In this episode we learn about an African American hero named Robert Smalls. Smalls was a slave who acquired many skills as a slave and used it to his advantage. His will and persistence to one day be free is what gave him his courage. Robert Smalls acquired many trades but the one that set him apart was him becoming a captain on the CSS Planter. Smalls found himself fighting on the wrong side of the war when the Planter was used by the confederates to plant mines, carry ammunition and cargo. Robert strategically planned his escape one night when he and the rest of the slaves were left to watch over the planter. Many slaves were scared of the repercussions if caught. Robert had nothing to lose, his freedom meant more than his life. The mission …show more content…
Soon to be joined by four other states. Southerners felt as the government was getting to strong, they felt as if no one would tell them how to live. South Carolina being the first state to leave the union. The Confederates demanded the Union to leave Fort Sumter after many failed negotiations and demands the confederates opened fire for 34 straight hours. This would be the start of the first Civil War battle. Many politicians felt this was a white man’s war and slaves had no right to fight this war. Slaves were not allowed to fight, all this changed when Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, it declared “ That all person held as slaves within the Confederate states should be free. Although it did not end slavery in the nation it gave people hope and uplifted the moral of blacks. Fredrick Douglas convinced Abraham Lincoln that African Americans were ready to fight and serve the Union. Robert Smalls was one of the first recruits to recruit colored troops. Black slaves volunteered by the thousands. They had suffered to long and been suppressed for many this was their way “ getting back at the white man” Yet many slaves saw this as a fight for their freedom and the freedom of their children, so that one day they would live
Ervin Beisch David W. Blight’s, “The Meaning of the Fight: Fredrick Douglas and the memory of the Fifty Fourth Massachusetts,” is an attempt to explain how the black population in the northern states, during the Civil War, fought not only for themselves but also fought o prove their value to the American people and to prove their manhood (Blight). Fredrick Douglas attempts to appeal to the colored populations encompassed both the art of acting and speech. The author wrote about how the black people, “Love their country, though rudely dealt by” (Blight), shows how he attempted to prove that this war was about all Americans and not just Americans that are white. The formation of the Fifty -Fourth was not the first all black regiment to fight but it was the first for the Massachusetts and northern area.
The black men did the same job just as hardy, but yet they were put in more danger than the white men. There were many racist comments thrown at the Harlem Hellfighters before, after, and during their fighting. One example of these statements are “the Negro brain just wasn’t “evolved” enough to handle the challenges of combat leadership…” The Harlem Hellfighters really earned their spot in this war. Even though they were getting beaten up every day they continued to try their hardest at every obstacle, they didn’t let the white mens’ comments decrease the amount of work that they did.
Edward Zwick portrays the 54th regiment as “regionally and socially diverse,” by incorporating “one Southern rebel and one Northern intellectual, one naïve field hand, and one wise old head.” (Denault, Whose Past is it Anyway?). Glory displays the regiment as being made up of runaway slaves, however, the regiment was composed of “ politically aware, educated, free, Northern African-Americans whose experience in the regiment allowed them to become leaders in the black community after the Civil War” (Danult, Whose Past is it Anyway?). Edward Zwick uses the stereotype of run-away slaves to develop the image of a diverse regiment that came together to fight a common evil, the Confederates. By doing this, Zwick expands the nationalism the run-away slaves felt by fighting for their freedom and the Union, making it understandable to a contemporary audience.
The movie Glory tells the story about the 54th Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry made up of only African American soldiers, some are slaves and some are freemen. The 54th Regiment is led by whites and their leader Robert Gould Shaw (Matthew Broderick), the son of Boston abolitionists, is awarded the rank of Colonel to lead this regiment. At the time it was believed that African Americans would make poor soldiers and would not be disciplined during battle while they were being shot at by the enemies. However, in the 54ths 1st battle, one of the bloodiest battles of the war was an uphill attack across the muddy forest against the Confederates in Charleston, S.C. This battle was thought to be a suicide mission because of the un-advanced
It further proved to the blacks that the war is a war for their freedom. The proclamation also allowed the acceptance of blacks to the army, which increased the amount of soldiers the Union had. It also added moral force for the Union and strengthen them militarily. Eventually the South also allowed African Americans to enroll in the army, but they refused to arm them. Many blacks worked as relief roles, such as nurses and cooks.
When the narrator was in Harlem, the narrator garners a better articulation of himself. The Brotherhood, which is a fictional version of many civil rights groups that sought to achieve social and economic equality, held many acts and speeches. The narrator was at one point the leader of the Harlem division, which shows a similarity to Nation of Islam. The narrator was peaceful, like Martin Luther King, but his competing ally, Ras the Destroyer was more aggressive, like Malcolm X. He believed that they had to “fight for the liberty of the black people” (Ellison 375) and that the power must be placed back into the hand of black folk in order for them to form their own identity. Ras evened envisioned the identity when he highlights “black intelligence” (Ellison 375).
In Ellison short story “Battle Royal” he shows us readers his view on the American society and the black struggles that are inscribed in it. In the Beginning of the story Ellison shows that during his time period there were some black people that felt regret on not taking a stand against the white people and instead just live a life of inequality. The narrator grandfather gave him a long speech on his deathbed that was full of real thoughts of the black people of Ellison time. In the short story “Battle Royal”, the grandfather proclaims, “I never told you, but our life is a war and I have been a traitor all my born days, a spy in the enemy's country”. Clarifying the fact that the life he lived was not a life he intended to but the only way he thought he could survive was to live it in that manner.
Throughout the movie, Rawlins is shown to be a fierce advocate for not only the soldiers under his command but for the wider African American community
The “Royal Battle” expresses the nauseating facts of discrimination to African American’s around the time of the Civil War in America during the late 1800’s. Ellison writes extensively about the manipulation African American men and women endured throughout history in his chronicle. However, the discrimination did not stop at name calling, it continued onto placing people of color into fighting rings purely for the entertainment of the white men present at the events. Even so, placing the gentlemen on the floor to fight for money they desperately needed. A complete mockery of the young men pursuing a difference for their heritage after being promised equality.
His story also sheds light on how those of color were being treated in during the war. During his story his talks about how he once gotten caught up in a riot on base and was sent to jail where he was harassed and finally stood up and hit a warden. Of course, he got into more trouble for that incident and was eventually kicked out. Malik believed, “If I had been white, I would
During Abraham Lincoln’s campaigning for presidency, Lincoln expressed his contemporary view that he believed whites were superior to blacks, not as a race, but as a stigma that history had placed, especially amongst the 1858 debates with Stephen Douglas, so when Lincoln passed the Proclamation, he truly believed that he was doing the right thing. This gained the support from people in the Union and the Union as a whole, but ended up putting the Confederates at much more unrest. Even though all of this occured, the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation wasn’t given without some type of warning. Abraham Lincoln passed the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation on September 22nd, 1862. It stated that if the Southern states did not cease their rebellious acts by January 1st, 1863, then Proclamation would go into effect.
Somebody once remarked, “No man is good enough to govern another man without the other's consent” (“Abraham Lincoln Quotes"). At the initial view, the Civil War was going to be won by the South. Nonetheless, all that changed when Abraham Lincoln constructed the Emancipation Proclamation because it did not solely free slaves, it further altered antiquity for the salutary and assisted the North in the war, which led to their triumph. The Emancipation Proclamation was Abraham Lincoln’s greatest achievement as president.
Robert Smalls was an escaped slave who escaped by taking control of a ship and sailing off to freedom. Robert Smalls was famous for changing President Lincoln’s mind about letting colored people join the battlefield. According to Johnathan W. White, “Word of Smalls’ daring escape quickly spread throughout the North.” He has the quality of ambition to escape and become more than a slave. Johnathan W. White indicates, “He served as a delegate at several Republican National Conventions, and also participated in the South Carolina Republican State conventions.”
Without Shaw, there is no way that African Americans would have had their chance to fight. No matter what bad luck may have been given to Shaw, he got through it with his team. Adversity is what Shaw loved, and that is what made his team so successful. In American National Biography, it reads, “In May the untested regiment was sent to Hilton Head, South Carolina. The Fifty-fourth’s first engagement proved an embarrassment to Shaw and his men.
This signifies African American involvement in World War II. While they contributed significantly to American victory, their work went unnoticed, and once they returned home they returned to a life of discrimination and menial