African American Soldiers of World War I - Essay Example

?Research Paper on African American Soldiers of World War I 0 Introduction As an African American once wrote in his letter, “This is our country right or wrong” -- this is patriotism personified (qtd. in Williams 3). Along with the entry of the United States of America into World War I, there is a need to mobilize all resources the government might want in order to strengthen its military competitiveness. This included utilization of the black race (Williams 15). President Woodrow Wilson’s “War for Democracy” became the aforementioned soldiers’ own battle for equality -- a battle for democracy within a war for democracy. They aimed to redefine themselves and mark their legitimate place in the land of the free, America, as they fought for its glory. This paper seeks to discuss African American soldiers’ role in the military history of the First World War, starting with the process of recruitment, moving along to their experiences in the armed forces, as well as in combat, and finally exploring the psychological impact it had on African Americans, in addition to their view of racial discrimination. 2.0 African Americans and Recruitment In the spring of 1917, The United States of America had to face a war of unsurpassed magnitude, requiring it to harness all its resources -- material, intellectual, and human. Hence, this was the mobilization of the colored people as a part of the country’s line of defense in the First World War (Williams 15). However, the path towards the fulfillment of their patriotic duty was not paved clear. Opposition in the person of members of the senate and southern democrats existed (Orr 90). The aforementioned officials resisted the idea of including African American draftees in the armed forces of the United States. Senator James K. Vardaman was adamant in his idea that millions of armed colored men served only as an unparalleled peril to the South (Ellis 11). However, because of black leaders’ efforts, 367,710 blacks were drafted (Orr 90). These African American draftees consisted of a variety of professions from common workers and farmers to physicians and attorneys. They were issued drafts on the months of June and September, and were ordered to join the 1,200 enlistees in Fort Dodge, Des Moines, Iowa in a Colored Officers Training Camp, regardless if they were willing to do so or not (Lentz-Smith 41). The aforementioned training camp was made possible through the resoluteness of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in pushing for the setting up of a training school for African American officers (Orr 91). 2.1 African Americans in the Armed Forces and in Combat African Americans’ participation in military defense was an unheard of concept even if it was in service to America (Lentz-Smith 21). Majority of white people greatly opposed this on the premise that colored people could not be capable soldiers (Williams 2). Some even went so far as to consider the colored man as more like a farm animal such as a horse instead of a man; an example was Ely Green who decided to enlist in the war upon hearing that very discriminating statement from white farmers (Lentz- Smith 38). Even with their entry to the armed forces, African Americans experienced the said discrimination. 200, 000 of those black soldiers were relegated to the American Expeditionary Force and were assigned labor functions -- something as menial as digging up trenches (Roberts and Tucker 2318). Hence, the reality of shouldering shovels in place of guns (Williams 2). The Navy further highlighted this by only including black men as mess boys or attendants. However, no such emphasis compared to the Marines’ complete rejection of them (Roberts and Tucker 2318). Racial discrimination was underlined in what is now known as the Battle of Anniston. The soldiers of the Third Alabama Colored Infantry experienced such blatant discrimination as they were driven back to camp by white military men and civilians when they went out on their first night there. They endured this hostility. However, two months after the year 1898, on Thanksgiving, a brawl erupted between the white and black soldiers which resulted in the death of one of each race and the wounding of several others. Although both sides were negatively affected by the said incident, it prompted still a discriminating response from Senator Morgan Tyler, who held liable of the inclusion of African Americans in the war for the emphasis of assumed equality, which merited antagonism from the white people (Lentz-Smith 20). Even as the war ended and the colored soldiers were newly discharged from the military, they were greeted, not with open arms, rather some were even lynched -- a very apt demonstration of a New Orleans’ official’s sentiments, “You are going to be treated exactly like you were before the war” (Orr 94). Exclusion to victory parades or relegating them to the rear of the parade stressed the truth behind that statement (Sutherland 342). The United States’ Congressional Medal of Honor was never given to a single African American soldier after the war (Orr 89). 2.2 First World War’s Psychological Impact on African Americans and their view of Racial Discrimination A primary champion for African Americans, W.E.B Du Bois urged his race to join in President Wilson’s “war for democracy” in order that they may also achieve the same democracy for themselves and win them their rights as equal citizens of America (Orr 90). He believed that was the road to emancipation (Phillips 9). This is indicative of African American’s thirst for equality and their weariness of discrimination. In fact, the colored race considered the First World War as an avenue to cease white domination and to establish a place for themselves in the American community (Lentz-Smith 4). They had grown very weary of Jim Crow, a political system upholding inequality. They wanted to prove wrong the conviction that African Americans deserved less because they were inferior compared to white men (Lentz-Smith 14). The First World War had a positive impact on the colored race as it brought to the foreground their long-subdued assertiveness, and it spurred them into action in their quest for democracy. 3.0 Conclusion World War I served as a milestone for African Americans. It turned their submissiveness into a strong independent will to achieve equality. Their military involvement in First World War, however, served as a monumental challenge to those colored soldiers. Right from the start, they were assigned a very inferior place in the armed forces. African Americans were not able to evade racial discrimination even in their patriotic service to the American Flag. Even before the war, they were almost not considered competitive enough to join in it. During the war, they fought for democracy while battling inequality every single day. After the war, they experienced the same scorn as they were treated before the war. The African- American race is the personification of patriotism as they fought for human rights even as their own rights were neglected. Works Cited Ellis, Mark. Race, War, and Surveillance: African Americans and the United States Government during World War I. Indiana: Indiana UP, 2001. Print. Lentz-Smith, Adriane Danette. Freedom Struggles: African Americans and World War I. US: President and Fellows of Harvard College, 2009. Print. Orr, Tamra. Critical Perspectives on World War I. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, 2005. Print. Phillips, Kimberley Louise. War! What Is It Good For?: Black Freedom Struggles and the U. S. Military from World War II to Iraq. North Carolina: North Carolina UP, 2012. Print. Roberts, Priscilla Mary and Spencer Tucker. World War 1. California: ABC-CLIO, 2006. Print. Sutherland, Jonathan. African Americans at War: An Encyclopedia. California: ABC-CLIO, 2004. Print. Williams, Chad. Torchbearers of Democracy: African American Soldiers in the World War I Era, 1976. North Carolina: North Carolina UP, 2010. Print. Read More