For Their Rights as Citizens During the Civil War, almost 200,000 African Americans fought alongside white What did these African Americans fight for? Some fought for the freedom ofothers of their kind. While others fought for equality in the eyes of white people. Evensome fought for revenge against the Southern way of life. But what I believe that theyfought for was their rights as citizens. They wanted to be treated as Citizens of the UnitedStates of America, and have all of the privileges endowed to citizens.If we fight to maintain a Republican Government, we want Republicanprivileges.....all we ask is the proper enjoyment of the rights of citizenship, p205. Thistells me that the African Americans were thinking of their rights of citizenship before thewar had concluded. To them, being a citizen of the United States meant that they coulddo what ever they wanted to do. They could pursue dreams they had to go visiteverywhere and anywhere in this country freely. Nobody would be holding them down orselling off their children anymore. They would no longer be automatons, they would havea say in what they wanted to accomplish in life, from banking to farming, to being landowners themselves.The African Americans also wanted to demonstrate that they were willing to fightfor their rights. Sergeant Charles Singer wrote, show the whole world that we are willingto fight for our rights... p.215. This shows that they wanted to prove that they werewilling to die for those rights allotted to citizens. Let us by a common cause now madeholy by our blood, raise ourselves from the mire, p.216. To me this shows thewillingness of the African Americans to join together fight for a cause, and not fear death. Because in the end, they would earn citizenship and all of its benefits. This is a goodreason to fight, earn freedom from oppression, and be given the rights allotted to allcitizens.Some fighting under the banner of citizenship and its ...
