Experiences of African Americans during the Civil War - Report Example

THE AFRICAN AMERICAN EXPERIENCE IN OHIO: 1803 – 1865 19th November, Introduction African Americans play a vital role in the growth of the economy, culture, and all other aspects of the state of Ohio, as is the case in all other states. Since their “importation” as slaves several centuries ago, this racial group has been actively involved in nation building through offering their labor. However, the history surrounding their entry into the United States has often led to poor treatment by the native and other white communities that settled in the same territories as they did. It is generally known that the bulk of the 16th and 17th Centuries Black immigrants did not travel to the US out of their own wills, but were shipped into the country as slaves – objects of trade with much lesser status than their employers (owners) and the society that they found in their new habitats. Consequently, the perceptions of the white community and the Red Indians regarding the Black community have remained flawed through several generations. As a result, there have been numerous attempts to implement policies that enforce equality in all states. Each state has had a different journey in its endeavors to unite the different racial groups as one and equal in recognition. In this paper I present the experiences of African Americans in the state of Ohio at a time when massive constitutional amendments – both favorable and unfavorable – were taking effect in the state. Ohio’s Laws Regarding African Americans, Changes and Developments after Entering the Federation and Rights Around 1802, the state of Ohio was preparing to join the Union. As a prerequisite, the state was henceforth required to adopt a different legal framework that freed slave in the state’s jurisdiction. In 1802, the Ohio state leadership outlawed the practice of slavery in the state. Further, the state law was enacted such that it prohibited African Americans from voting in any elections in the state. In 1804, the legislative arm of the state government in Ohio legislated in view of racial relations between African Americans and other communities. The piece of legislation passed during that time is widely called the Ohio Black Code. Below are some of the highlights of the Code. The first section of the Ohio Black Code legislated on possible scenarios that an African American slave would be allowed into the state. The law stipulated that such persons had to carry their certificates of “actual freedom”, attested by a clerk of a court in the United States. Once the individual produced the required certificate, they were allowed to reside within the state. The second section of the Code provided for immediate registration of all African Americans residing in the state by the time the Code was enacted. Each such person was required to also register all persons residing with them, including their children. Again, the registrations would only be valid if done by a clerk of a court in the United States. The permits were to be paid for by the applicants.1 The Code also legislated in favor of the African Americans in the state, by outlawing employment of any Black persons unless they had a valid certificate of residence. In effect, any persons who would attempt to hire non-free Blacks would be faced with court-imposed fines. The section also gave the courts the power to punish such offenders as outlined in the act. Further, courts in the state were accorded the power to re-register individuals who had valid registration certificates and who were initially living in other states or counties within the state. The stipulated registration fees would remain the same for primary and secondary registrations. Registration deadline was set at two years of beginning to reside in Ohio.2 For any non-free persons, the act provided for their arrest if they intentionally present false information about themselves. As a consequence, the county sheriffs were accorded the authority to arrest such persons and present them to the people who formally and lawfully claim them, and compensation would be made to such officers. Further, the act provided a legal basis for charging any persons who tried to force Blacks in the state into slavery by making fraudulent claims that such were their slaves. Such individuals would be liable to heavy fines.3 The state was further accorded the authority and means to recover the heavy fines imposed upon such offenders. Through the act, persons who traded in slaves were handed tough penalties, including being charged in a court of law within the United States, and forfeiting the carriers they used for state use. Additionally, the act provided for further fining of the individuals, and possible jail terms.4 This last provision was not restricted to Ohio alone, but was a common stance adopted by the federal government. Employment Based on the newly legislated Ohio Black Codes, the state government of Ohio was accorded the right to implement stiff penalties upon those who violated the employment laws. Enslavement of African Americans was officially over, and employers and employees were required to adopt new standards of employment. The new standards would ensure that all employees were paid in accordance with the state’s set minimum wage.5 Additionally, every such employment relationships would be cognizant of the fact that the former slaves were now transacting as free persons, much like the rest of the populations were doing. Around this time, the reality among African Americans in the state of Ohio was low educational achievements, lesser skills in non-manual jobs, and more exposure to the manual types of jobs. For this reason, the state’s Black population was at first unable to compete favorably for available job opportunities with their white counterparts. As a result, they ended up taking the more physically taxing roles in workplaces, and eventually getting lower compensations than other racial groups.6 These disabling factors ensured that the Black community in the state was also the poorest. In the present state, they were less likely to acquire valuable jobs. Attitudes and Treatments from Whites in the State Despite their push for equality, African Americans were viewed with minimal regard, and were generally considered inferior to other races in the state of Ohio. For instance, the state’s colleges and other institutions of learning were adamant about not admitting students of African American descent. This became an impediment towards enhancing interaction between whites and blacks. Due to this isolationist approach, blacks in the state resolved, like in many other parts of the federation, to start their own institutions of learning. Likewise, religious separation was gaining momentum, and churches that were mainly attended by blacks ended up setting educational institutions for them.7 This denial of meaningful interaction, coupled with poor treatment and low wages in the employment scene contributed to a general feeling of rejection and despise. Whites expressed their misguided opinions against blacks in many forums, using such assertions as “Africans are mentally inferior to whites”. Experiences of African Americans during the Civil War At Delaware, Ohio, the Union had the first recruitment center for African Americans interested in joining the army. The soldiers would be actively deployed in the Civil War under directions from white army commanders.8 Their training was also inferior to that of whites. As a result, they were ill equipped to fight favorably against the brutal Southern forces. The outcomes of their encounters with the Confederate were clearly indicative of their poor training and equipping. Thousands died in the war, in rates that greatly overwhelmed the proportional balance existing between them and white soldiers from the Union’s forces.9 African American Soldiers in the State African Americans did not have an express constitutional right to join the armed forces up until the Civil War began. However, many young men were still interested in fighting alongside their white colleagues. When President Abraham Lincoln eventually allowed their recruitment into the army, the force was able to recruit about one hundred and eighty thousand volunteer soldiers of African American origin, and they reinforced the Union’s army in the Civil War.10 This marked the beginning of their enrolment into the army, and they would eventually serve in subsequent wars, including the First and Second World Wars. Back in Ohio, Governor David Todd became the first of his rank to allow participation of African Americans in the army.11 However, the African American soldiers were still treated with lesser respect, and they would not get promotions to head battalions, which were all headed by the promoted white soldiers. Conclusion Clearly, there have been massive gains in the personal rights of African Americans in the state of Ohio, as has been the trend all over the country. Some of these gains are directly attributable to the constitutional amendments that took place when the state joined the Federation (then Union) in 1803. Several of these events changed perceptions about Blacks, including the Civil War, and the Ohio Black Code. African Americans experienced a transformational phase of their relationships with whites in the period between 1803 and 1865, marking the beginning of the tremendous gains the group has achieved in the civil rights front. Bibliography Akron’s Multicultural History. 2008. “Black, White and Beyond – African Americans in the Civil War.” The University of Akron. < http://learn.uakron.edu/beyond/civilWar.htm> Jones, Martha S. 2007. “All Bound up Together: The Woman Question in African American Public Culture, 1830 - 1900.” North Carolina: University of North Carolina University Press. Lillian Goldman Law Library. 2008. “An Act to Prohibit the Importation of Slaves into Any Port within the Jurisdiction of the United States, from and after the First Day of January, in the Year of Our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred and Eight.” New Haven: Yale Law School. Ohio History Connection. 2013. “African Americans.” Ohio History Central. http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/African_Americans Woodson, Carter G. 1925. “Free Negro Heads of Families in the United States in 1830 Together with a Brief Treatment of the Free Negro.” Washington, DC: The Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, Inc. Yost, Denise. 2013. “Remembering African-American Soldiers in Camp Delaware.” NBC4I. http://www.nbc4i.com/story/21087444/remembering-african-american-soldiers-in-camp-delaware Read More