General Pershing Orders On African-American Soldiers

The 369th Infantry Regiment otherwise known as the Harlem Hellfighters was the first all-black US combat unit that was shipped during WW I and was crucial in the WWII battles in Hawaii and Okinawa. These members who were skilled and very proud were shipped to Hawaii and protected the Hawaiian islands with antiaircraft from Japanese attack. William De Fossett was one of the main leaders of the 369th regiment, who joined it due to the regiments fame from the waning days of World War I. The original Harlem Hellfighters fought with the French Army and were awarded for their excellent service. De Fossett made the highly selective and demanding requirements of the 369th regiment. He grew up in the highly cultured

When word of African Americans enlisting in the Union Army got out, the Confederate Army lashed out many threats. They

Among them were men who had earned the Medal of Honor and others who achieved “firsts” for African American men. In 1890, the Army and Navy Journal announced that the rifle team for the Department of Dakota included officers and enlisted men from both white and black regiments, including Pvt. John Gordon of Company B, 25th Infantry. Gordon emerged from the competition as the best marksman in the Department of Dakota. He was the first African American soldier to do so.

The Massachusetts 54th was an African-American regiment in the civil war. It was organized by Massachusetts governor John Andrew. After Abraham Lincoln made the Emancipation Proclamation stating that all slaves are now free. According to the History website, Fredrick Douglas and others tried to encourage black men to join the military. Two of Frederick Douglass's sons join the military. More than 1,000 black soldiers were with the Massachusetts 54th. Their motivation wasn’t to save the union, it was for equal rights. They started out doing manual labor such as building railroads, burying the dead, and supplying weapons. Later on, they are well known for the attack on Fort Wagner. The African American soldiers also faced a lot of obstacles

The black soldiers in war were the African-Americans in the rebel states, who were slaves in the south. They were allowed into the army when Lincoln signed the Emancipation Act of 1962.The black soldiers provided relief and support roles such as cooking and built roads bridges but did not participate in full combat until late towards the end of the war (Smith 2002, pp 47-66).

Chapter 13 Document Assignment 1. Why, in Gooding’s view, should African American soldiers receive equal pay to whites? • Gooding raised the question to Lincoln, “are we Soldiers or are we Laborers?” I personally love this question he asked to start his argument off. I think it would have placed Lincoln in the right mind to hear the rest of his plea, by asking a specific question he could answer with reasoning.

They were willing to put their lives on the line for their country. African Americans assumed that after being viewed as equals this would lead to more freedom in their daily lives. (Document 3) This was not the case though. Many wanted this and so they started the Double V Campaign. Double V stood for Double Victory. Their goal was to achieve a victory abroad and a victory at home. Those at war saw that this was not as easy as they wanted it to be. Corporal Rupert Trimmingham wrote about the treatment of African Americans compared to the treatment of enemies of the country. (Document 5) This showed that even the Germans were being treated better than them as they were American soldiers. This did not lead to opportunities or freedoms for them. It just showed that they had more battles to win and considering equal soldiers was one of

The Northern and Southern armies had very different views of African Americans military service in the Civil War. One way that we know this is by looking at two recruitment posters.

The Fabian strategy, also known as strategic defense, is a military strategy in which a weaker

In the short film, “The Negro Soldier,” the whole focus was to get African Americans to join the military. With the use of propaganda, the U.S. government hoped to promote getting African Americans to want to fight for their country. It hoped to instill patriotism in them. It showed that Germany and the Nazis had no respect for them and considered them the scum of the earth. It also portrayed them being accepted as equals into the American society. It was used to make them think they were wanted and play a major role in the success of the war against germany. And to ultimately make Germany and the Nazis look like the bad guys (destroying their monuments) instead of the racist America they lived in. It also portrayed African American soldiers prior contributions in previously fought wars as pivotal moments in American history. It made it seem like they were the reason for those victories. It also explained how the African American soldiers were honored with tributes, memorials, medals and parades for their service in the military. In the ongoing WWII, it was said that there were three times the number of African Americans soldiers in WWII than in WWI. Also, many more were getting commissioned and attending West Point and OCS (Officer Candidate School). African American men that were once printers, tailors, entertainers are now soldiers in the Army as gunners, tankers, radio operators, mechanics, quartermasters, and infantrymen. They were now the backbone of

In March 1941, 98 black enlisted men reported to Fort Knox, Ky., from Fort Custer, Mich., for armored warfare training with the 758th Tank Battalion (light). The pioneer black tankers trained in light tank operations, mechanics and related phases of mechanized warfare, as enlisted men from other Army units joined their ranks.

Prejudice was also very evident towards African Americans in the Union forces in that they were usually assigned to labor duties, such as cleaning camps, building defenses and garrison duty, and in many cases not allowed to fight. Up until 1864, there was even a difference in pay for black soldiers, and they were not allowed to be commissioned officers.

African-American soldiers and civilians fought a two-front battle during World War II. There was the enemy overseas, and also

Throughout American history, African Americans have had to decide whether they belonged in the United States or if they should go elsewhere. Slavery no doubtfully had a great impact upon their decisions. However, despite their troubles African Americans made a grand contribution and a great impact on both armed forces of the Colonies and British. "The American Negro was a participant as well as a symbol."; (Quarles 7) African Americans were active on and off the battlefield, they personified the goal freedom, the reason for the war being fought by the Colonies and British. The African Americans were stuck in the middle of a war between white people. Their loyalty was not to one side or another, but to a principle, the principle of liberty.

When America entered the Second World War, in 1942, they required Black men to fight. Many Black men fought for America in the war and did everything expected of them. Although they fought in different regiments to White Americans they were treated with respect, something many Black Americans had not experienced before. Whilst at war they noticed that many other countries- such as Britain- had integrated regiments without complications, so many wondered why America could not do the same. When