African
Americans In Times of War - The Slippery status of African American soldiers
and civilians.
As
during the American Revolution, black sailors and soldiers saw the second war
with Britain as a means to advance their own agenda. For free blacks, the War
of 1812 provided the chance to broker their participation in ways that enhanced
their individual and collective status within society. Yet for free blacks, the
war did not advance their march toward equality but rather initiated a new era
of prejudice and racial discrimination. For enslaved peoples, serving as
participants could provide an avenue to freedom, but it did not happen as often
as expected.
After
the Revolutionary War, the US government had chosen to limit the size of the
American army, and this ultimately created opportunities for free blacks and
slaves. The traditional fears of a large standing army, as well as burdening
fiscal concerns, carried great considerations and prompted Americans to rely
upon citizen soldiers. The 1792 federal militia act further defined the role of
American citizens in defending their country by placing responsibility for
arming the militia on the individual and making states responsible for training
and enforcement of the federal and state statutes.
Each state did have the
authority to clarify the federal mandate, even though most simply mimicked the
wording of the 1792 act. New Jersey (1792), Vermont (1797), North Carolina
(1806), and New Hampshire (1808) required free white male citizens to serve but
took no position on African Americans. Some states such as North Carolina and
Virginia permitted blacks to muster alongside whites. Others such as
Connecticut (1784), Massachusetts (1785), and South Carolina (1800) exempted
blacks from the militia altogether; South Carolina even forbade “negroes” to be
“armed with any offensive weapons unless in cases of alarm.”
#BlackHistoryMonthHHC #Sheshereforit
#BlackHistoryMonthHHC #Sheshereforit
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