Essay Example on The Effect of the Civil War on the African American Community

US History 12 January 2018 The Effect of the Civil War on the African American Community In 1861 One of the most historically significant war erupted The Civil War In order to protect the practice of slavery 11 southern states separated themselves from the Union and formed their own country The Confederate States of America Abraham Lincoln The President at the time was willing to do anything to keep the union together and refused to recognize the Confederate states as an independent country resulting in war With slavery being one of the main causes of the war it is remembered mostly for the effect it had on the African American Community The North wasn t just fighting to keep the Union together they were fighting to end slavery When the war first started many free back men hurried to join the Union Army Abraham Lincoln skeptical at first with the fear that allowing Back men to serve in the Union Army would cause the border states to withdraw themselves from the Union However in 1862 

About a year later On March 13 1865 a law was passed in the confederacy stating that slaves would be freed if they enlisted in the Confederate Army with permission from their Owners Even though Slaves knew they would be free if they enlisted in the Army Many didn t knowing they would be fighting to keep slavery alive After a long 4 years fighting to keep the Union together and to end slavery in the spring of 1865 On April 9th Robert E Lee surrender to Ulysses S Grant ending the war claiming victory for the Union Even though the war had ended the effects it would have on the African American community would last a lifetime Immediately after the war had ended plans for reconstruction were on their way Abraham Lincoln who unfortunately was assassinated at the end of the war didn t want to punish the southern states for their behavior and wanted to make it easy for them to join back with the Union but any state that wants to be added back to the union must abolish slavery in their state However due to Lincoln s assassination Andrew Johnson was president during the reconstruction period and him being from the south wanted to make the process of reconciliation easier for southern states but congress disagreed and began to pass harsh laws regarding the south Realizing that they would either have to abolish slavery or remain by themselves in which they knew they wouldn t survive southern states began to pass laws preventing blacks from doing anything from voting to getting a job known as black codes When congress realized that southern states were trying to make life harder for those of color they ratified more amendments to protect their rights They added the 13th amendment abolishing slavery the 14th amendment declaring the Blacks were considered citizens of the united states and they are treated equally and fairly under the law and the 15th amendment which allowed all the men the right to vote regardless their skin color