Civil War Dbq African Americans

African Americans had an extremely pivotal role in the outcome and consequences of the Civil War. This group of people were enslaved, and forced to work in horrible conditions, for the whole day, without pay. Slaves were one of the main causes of the Civil War. The issue of Slavery, which resulted in the eventual economic and social division between the North and South, caused the creation of the Confederate States. African Americans did not only unintentionally cause the war, but they also effected the outcome of the war, and the eventual consequences the nation would face after the war. During the war, blacks were used as motivation to fight, they were willing to help fight, and they even worked their way into the politics of the post war

These carpetbaggers ultimately influenced the politics of the South, resulting in many African Americans being elected into office. These men in office greatly changed the way post war politics would have been handled in both the South and North. Blacks could also vote, effecting the government even more. As explained in document H, they were now free men, and they saw that they deserve to vote. This was an idea which was unthinkable just a couple months before, and now African Americans were in the government, deciding what bills to make, or pass. They represented the interests of all African Americans, and they started to make decisions based on ones which would make their lives better, because they still faced many hard ships even though they were now equal to whites. African Americans greatly shaped the outcome and consequences of the Civil War. They were the cause of it, they played a key role in the battles, and they effected the political make up regarding African Americans, of not only the South, but the whole country. If the African Americans had not played a role in the war, the north may have still won because of their size, but the odds are that there would still be slavery and or segregation in the United States