The Significance of Lincolns Gettysburg Address - Essay Example

Client’s 18 March There is a deep connection between the recruitment of African American soldiers to fight in the Union army andthe overall message of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, these two were never coincidences, this paper will shed more light upon the same. A comprehensive understanding of the facts will be shed light upon in this paper. Abraham Lincoln was the first American president who fought against slavery, he believed in complete parity and he fought hard to eliminate slavery and racism in America.

Abraham Lincoln started recruiting black soldiers when there was a dire need, the army was very short of work force and soldiers were very badly needed, black soldiers were recruited when the others failed to show interest and there were apprehensions whether these black soldiers would discharge their duty well or not. The doubts became evident questions because the black soldiers were former slaves and some thought that they would intentionally fail because they had been slaves and mistreated in America.

The other soldiers and civilians thought that this was a very unwise decision by Lincoln, they also thought that it would never work when put into practice but Lincoln had already done the impossible. He never needed anyone’s approval, he had already successes partially in his aim to eliminate slavery in America. Black soldiers proved everyone wrong and they also proved Lincoln right when they fought valiantly and won several crucial battles, this was certainly a masterstroke by Lincoln and the one that no one saw coming.

The battle of Port Hudson was primarily won because of black soldiers and they all worked in unison to win it for the trust that Lincoln had showed in them. The Black soldiers were mistreated when they were captured, they were not treated as prisoners of war but they were treated like slaves and Lincoln had several issues with it. The captured black soldiers were often sold and forced into slavery which did not go down too well with the president. Lincoln wanted the same protection for these African American soldiers as the white soldiers; the white soldiers were never forced into slavery when they were caught and they were always treated like the prisoners of war.

Lincoln always wanted parity and he fought for it right till the end. Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and the recruitment of African American soldiers both are deeply connected, Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address stresses the need for parity in America and Lincoln firmly believed that the only way of restoring parity was by giving the African Americans a chance to be included in the army so that they start getting accepted by their peers and by the civilians who they were fighting for but initially this endeavor of Lincoln failed severely but gradually he succeeded in all his endeavors.

Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address made it very clear that all men are equal and no one is superior or inferior, the address also made it really clear that the president does not want nay slaves and any form of slavery to exist in America but the whites who had been dominating the blacks were completely against this whole idea initially. Conclusion Recruiting African American soldiers was never a coincidence; it was a preplanned move by Lincoln so as to eliminate slavery from America. The black soldiers faced rejection once again when their peers and when the civilians who they were protecting, thought that they would intentionally lose so as to avenge their past but the African American soldiers proved themselves by playing a key role in several crucial battles and ended up winning many crucial battles but their fight did not stop there.

They were not treated like prisoners of war when upon being captured, Lincoln wanted this to change and he achieved whatever he wanted to achieve although his success was very hard fought but it was certainly worth it. To conclude it is fair to say that there was a strong connection between the recruitment of African Americans to fight in the Union (northern) Army and the overall message of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.