The Bio and Achievements of Robert Smalls - Term Paper Example

The Bio and Achievements of Robert Smalls Robert Smalls is one of the most celebrated African American heroes of Civil War era (Witherspoon 6). Despite being born a slave, his slavery did not deter him from fighting for the rights and freedom of the African Americans by making a daring attempt to hijack a white, navy ship, a risky move that no one of the time could attempt to do (Bampfield 67). It is his bravery, charisma and intelligence that made him make such a move for the betterment of the society. After the war, he eventually became the first African American to become congressman, which was a big achievement as far as the history of black Americans is concerned. This is because it proved to the entire society that even African Americans are able of making good leadership. Despite the fact that he is no more, Smalls is still a national hero. Robert Smalls was born on 5 April 1839 in South Carolina at a home where his mother was working as a slave for the white Native Americans (Wikipedia.org par. 1). The fact that his mother was a slave means that he was born into slavery, something that he grew up into. What is surprising is that his father who has since remained anonymous was a white American who is thought to have forced his mother into sexual intercourse because of her slavery at the time. Like his mother, smalls were also forced to work as a slave boy in the white settlements, something which he did until the age of twelve, after which he decided to seek for a paying job in Charleston (Kennedy 27). Since Smalls had no good education and the fact that jobs were being discriminatively awarded, he managed to get employed as a laborer (Miller 4). Despite the poor, working condition, which he had to work in, Smalls were determined to get some money, which he could use to help his enslaved mother who had been rendered destitute by slavery. The condition of the job was that out of all the earnings Smalls received from the job he was only allowed to save a dollar while the rest of his earning belonged to his master. Barclay reveals that by the time Smalls turned eighteen years old he decided to strike a deal with his employer, who accepted Smalls to send him fifteen dollars every month, as opposed to the earlier deal in which Small had to take only one dollar and hand over the rest (Par. 3). This deal enabled Smalls to save much money than he did initially. It is also here in Charleston that Smalls met Hannah, whom she married on 24 December 1856. Barclay notes that, at the time of Smalls’ marriage, he was barely seventeen years old while his wife Hannah was thirty-two years old. Smalls and Hannah did not take long before having a child together, whom they named Robert Smalls Jr, (Miller 5). However, at the time of marriage, his wife was still being considered Samuel Kingman’s property as well as the child. This meant that Smalls had to buy his wife and his child if he wanted to take them up with him, which is very absurd. As a result, he had to save up to $800 dollars required to buy his family. Smalls was not happy at all by being forced into buying his family something, which forced him to look for another job the same year in 1861. It is then that he got employed as a deckhand on the so-called Planter, which is a transport steamer. This job gave Smalls an opportunity to learn a lot about piloting a ship as well as Charlton harbor. This is because due to his intelligence, and industrious nature, he did not take long as a deckhand as he was promoted very fast to the position of a pilot. Being a pilot make him learn better how the harbor is and what it takes to pilot a ship. This is because he was determined to free himself from the slavery, which he had been subjected to since his childhood (Miller 5). After having learnt everything he needed, the civil war soon gave him the opportunity to escape and seek for his freedom to be able to help set free, other black Americans from slavery and other forms of human rights abuses. As such, on May 13, 1862 at dawn hours when Planter’s while officers were still deep asleep, Smalls, and his family sneaked into the ship from which they joined the other twelve slave crews, who were also boarded the Planter. Smalls immediately took command of the ship with courage with the help of the other slave crews who wanted to free themselves. Smalls sailed the ship from Charleston harbor in the presence of Confederates troops who had been taken by surprise with such an abrupt turn of events. Smalls managed to sail the Planter to Samuel DuPont, the Union ship commanding Officer (Robert Smalls Par.5). Upon arrival, Smalls explained that he decided to take away the ship from the confederate to signify the contribution of African Americans in the struggle against oppression in the United States. DuPont accepted the Planter as a gift from which Smalls and his colleagues were declared heroes of the Civil War. It is then that Smalls and his colleagues were summoned by Abraham Lincoln, the then President of the U.S. who awarded them for their great achievement by giving them monetary awards. President Lincoln then appointed Smalls as Captain of the U.S. Navy right away in 1863, a position he held throughout the civil war (Miller 4). After emerging victorious in the civil war, Small ambition to be a politician grew since he wanted to ensure that African Americans also participate in major decision-makings affecting the country just like the white native white Americans. As a result, Smalls travelled back South Carolina to venture into active politics. He successfully contested for the senate in the state of North Carolina from 1868 to 1870. Due to his great achievements in the senate, Smalls was elected to Congress in 1875. He held the same position for five terms consecutive due to the fact that he was considered a progressive reformist in the Houser of Congress. One such reform, which he fort for in the house of congress, was the equal travel accommodation for African Americans. The other was the civil and legal protection of children born of parents from different races as himself (Sterling and Rayford 69). Soon after leaving congress, Smalls worked as a U.S. Custom’s collector at port Beaufort in South Carolina. It is intriguing that while working at the port, Smalls decided to live with his mother at the Beaufort home where they had all served as slaves. However, since he still had a lot of interest in military matters, he became a major general in the militia of the state of South Carolina. Robert Smalls passed on of 23 February 1916 at the age of 75 (Billingsley 4). Achievements of Robert Smalls Robert Smalls made great achievements as far the fight for African America freedom is concerned. Firstly, it is through he made an outstanding achievement by hijacking the confederates ships right at their watch, a risky move that no one could dare to make. In the event, he was able to sail the ship right from Charleston harbor to the Union forces, which is in itself a great achievement. It also becomes an achievement because his intention was not only to show his bravery, but instead for the good of the entire Africa American community. This became apparent when he told the Union commanding officer that he hijacked the ship to signify the contribution of African American in the war for freedom (Sterling 3). Secondly, he made an extraordinary achievement as the first black American to captain a U.S. navy ship. Sterling notes that, before his appointment as captain of the U.S. navy ship by President Lincoln, no black American have captained a navy ship. It is due to his charisma and determination that made him learns how to captain a ship when employed at Planter. This is an outstanding achievement as far as the history of African American is concerned (Kennedy 37). Smalls also made a significant achievement as one of the first African Americans to be elected in political positions, in the US. This is because he managed to get elected in the U.S senate after which he was also able to contest for the congress and got elected. This was a great achievement following given that he managed to convince many white voters that he could make a good leader. Furthermore, he managed to hold the position for five consecutive terms despite contesting against other strong candidates (Billingsley 6). Small is also credited as someone who was fair to everyone irrespective of race, ethnicity, and religion, as evident during the civil war. In this regard, he was able to relate well with the white soldiers to help in the fight against the confederates. He did not misuse his position as captain of the navy ship to oppress the white Americans. Instead, his aim was to help make America a better place for everyone regardless of the color of the skin, religion, ethnicity, language, or disability (Sterling 3). Robert Smalls also made great achievements in the fight for equal rights for black Americans even under situations when all hope appears lost. This was manifested during his political life both as a senator and a congressman. This was evident as he was one the black Americans w ho fought against segregation laws in the U.S. For instance, he was able to initiate a bill in the congress abolishing equal travel accommodation for African Americans who had been segregated for a long time. In addition, he made an achievement by introducing the civil and legal protection of children born of parents from different races, majority of whom were of the Africa American origin (Kennedy 39). Robert Smalls will certainly go into history books as a great, courageous African America hero who fought tirelessly for the freedom of black Americans. In addition, he made great achievements that few have been able to such as being the first black American to captain a U.S. Navy ship as well as a congressman. Work Cited Bampfield, Jim. “How to Capture a Rebel Warship.” SIRS Enduring Issues. U.S. Naval Institute. 2002. Print. Barclay, Shelly. Robert Smalls - a Biography. Jan. 9, 2010. Web. 16 Nov. 2012. http://voices.yahoo.com/robert-smalls-biography-5230285.html?cat=37. Billingsley, Andrew. Yearning to Breathe Free: Robert Smalls of South Carolina and His Families. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press. 2007. Print. Kennedy, Robert F., Jr. Robert Smalls, the Boat Thief. New York. Hyperion. 2008. Print. Miller, Edward A. Guller Statesman: Robert Smalls: Robert Smalls’s from Slavery to Congress, 189-1915. University of South Carolina Press. Columbia. 1995. Print. Wikipedia.org. Robert Smalls. Web. 16 Nov. 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Smalls Sterling, Dorothy. Captain of the Planter: The Story of Robert Smalls. New York. Pocket Books. 1958. Print. Sterling, Philip & Rayford, Logan. Four Took Freedom: The Lives of Harriet Tubaman, Fredrieck Douglass, Robert Smalls, and Banche K. Bruce. Chapter III: “Charleston Pilot” Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Company. 1967. Print. Witherspoon, Derrick. “Army Vessel Honors Robert Smalls: A Black Officer. Civil Was News, SFC, Vol. XXXII, No. 10. November 2007. Print. Read More