Western Settlement and the Frontier in American History, Essay Example

The role of the Civil War, World War II and World War II in encouraging Racism in the American Society

Between 1861 and 1877, the Civil War validated the Union, put an end to slavery and established three constitutional amendments, which set up a basis for compliance with the pronouncement that “all men are equal.” It is such declarations that paved the way for an end to slavery and the new feeling that racism against minority groups in the American society should be unacceptable. Later, America’s participation in the World War II in 1917 and the World War II in 1941 redefined the government’s role in American civil rights. Despite the efforts to end slavery and racism during the Civil War, the World War I and World War II saw the increase in discriminatory practices and intolerance against the minority groups. It is based on this premise that this essay argues that the Civil War, World War I and World War II did little to stop racism. Instead, they only created strong awareness that excessive racism was not universal or acceptable in the United States. Worse still, they increased the feeling of intolerance against the minority groups.

The American Civil War

The American Civil War was more than just a succession of battles. It consisted of countrywide catastrophe that had profound consequences on many societal aspects (Ch2 39-49). The Civil War was a military conflict with the most far-reaching social implications in the Western world, apart from the World War I and World War II. It precipitated emancipation of four million slaves, restructured the national and regional politics and significantly changed the relationship between the federal government and the states (Foner 30-8).

The Civil War was triggered by perspectives of opinion leaders of the time, such as Abraham Lincoln, who was against the idea of slavery into the territories situated the West. The war changed the long-standing conflict regarding the future of slavery and the preservation of the Union. In addition to other Republicans and the people in the North, Lincoln was also against the constitutional legitimacy of secession. His election to presidency caused seven states in the South to want to withdraw from the Union. To stop the secession and save the Union, the United States broke into a war in 1861 (Ch40-5). It rose from the war in 1865, having formed a nation. Lincoln and his counterparts in the Republican Party were well acquainted with the idea that the United States Constitution enshrined slavery in the states, the practice that had initially prevailed. However, he planned to prevent it from further expanding, as the initial step towards bringing it to a close (Foner 30-8).

Although freedom failed to contribute to equality for the freed slaves, the Civil War triggered massive constitutional changes, which redefined the quality of American society. It also emerged as a point of exit in the movement for human rights to emancipate the minority groups, such as the African Americans. Most importantly, the American Civil War validated the status of the United States of America as a single political entity, which contributed to the freedom of around 4 million enslaved African American. Hence, the African Americans were among the greatest beneficiaries of the Civil War. It also led to a more centralized and authoritative federal government. Further, it laid the basis for the emergence of America as a global power in the 20th century.

The Civil War also stimulated the opening of the Far West by eliminating resistance against settlement in the South. The landless Americans of European decent largely benefitted from the free land. The Congress, which was dominated by the Republicans, passed the Homestead Act. The Act provided 160 acres of public land in the West to any citizen age 21 years and older and had a family, who had stayed on the land for five successive years. The biggest beneficiaries were the European immigrants (Ch40-9).

The experience of African Americans before the Civil War was principally one of slavery. While the African Americans were absorbed into the army to fight in the Civil War, liberation emerged as a major concern as the Northerners began to recognize the vast resources that lay at their hands once they absorbed the African American recruits (Foner 30-8). At the same time, African American leaders, such as Frederick Douglas held the perspective that their participation in the Civil War was an opportunity for full rights citizenship. Indeed, after the Civil War, among the largest beneficiaries were the African Americans as they were recognized as full American citizens who could own property, such as lands, thence.

Still, the African American soldiers suffered discrimination. Indeed, after the war, Roosevelt still preached that “civilization was the White man’s burden,” which made it tough for the emancipated African Americans to fully assimilate into the society. In fact, during the Civil War, the manner in which the African American soldiers related with the White American soldiers was one of discrimination. They were assigned menial positions as they were considered to have no expertise in fighting. Still, the Civil War did contribute to their emancipation by ending slavery and paving the way for transformations such as the creation of the Bureau of Colored Troops in 1863 (Foner 30-8).

After the Civil War and just before the First World War, the American Society experienced intensified racism. To a considerable extent, racism prevailed. The racial diversity of the west triggered a variety of racism. For instance, the society was divided into superior and inferior Whites. Additionally, the feeling as to whether the “Indians” were superior to the “Negroes”, or whether the Mexicans were Indians, as well as whether the Chinese immigrants were tolerable than the way the Japanese intensified (Ch2 58).

During this time, Theodore Roosevelt portrayed the image of the West as a place for social equality. Accordingly, the individualism in the West originated from the idea that all men were equal, except for the Indians, Negroes, and Orientals, as well as the fact that all people should be provided with the capacity to enjoy their freedom (Ch2 51). However, while confidence in equality was a common creed that stemmed from the Civil War among the European settlers, it was just a myth; the Negroes, Orientals, and Indians did not enjoy such rights.

In 1880, spending on military to engage the Indians swelled to around 60% of the federal budget. Hence, the Indian wars climaxed and ended after the Apaches were defeated in 1886. Still, the Civil War broke the barriers between the rich and the poor to a considerable extent. Indeed, what struck foreigners in the West was that the poor could mix with the rich without feeling unequal (Ch2 53).

The decision to fund transcontinental railroad called the Union Pacific in 1862 also placed the freed slaves, Indians, as well as Asian and European immigrants into constant conflicts leading to massacres and murders throughout the later part of that century.  Further, an informal military unit of Arizona civilians broke into a peaceful camp in 1871 and killed more than 100 Apache Indians, mostly who were children and women. From this, it could be argued that the Civil War triggered deep feeling of racism between the Indians and the Whites, as the attack was a biracial affair (Ch2 54).

First World War

The First World War was to American immigrants a war for democracy. Accordingly, the African Americans were of the view that once they helped to defend democracy overseas, there was greater possibility they would receive it at home. In fact, some African American leaders, such as W. E. B. Du Bois were of the view that by helping American fight the war, they were making an extraordinary sacrifice for further emancipation at home (Ch 104-8).

Still, after the Civil War and during the First World War, the American Society experienced a steady growth of racism. It could be argued that the American leaders were largely to blame for failing to curtail racism at its roots. The most influential opinion leaders, such as Roosevelt, were more concerned with imperialism and fronting the United States to participate in international affairs rather than integrating the growing diversity of immigrants in the United States after the Civil War (Bederman 106-9). In which case, the potential for growth of anti-immigrants feelings was not their priority; imperialism was. At the start of the World War in 1914, Roosevelt advocated for the preparedness of the United States in the War, something that President Woodrow Wilson opposed. Wilson was worried that the war would have impacts on the ethnic ties of the American immigrants, who had foreign ties. He, therefore, advocated for neutrality during the war. He knew that if American participated in the World War I, campaigns for intolerance against a section of immigrants would increase (Bederman 106-115). Indeed, the War had stirred up anti-German sentiment, which stimulated men to volunteer into the army. Apart from the Germans, the African Americans were also the subject of hate campaigns, leading to the emergence of the Klu Klux Klan. Consequently, anti-immigrant and anti-Black intensified.

In turn, racism intensified, and the African Americans became vulnerable. In fact, one of the most touching events for such vulnerabilities was the emergence of a racial outfit called The Ku Klux Klan, which spread nationwide during the 1920s. Another event was the lynching of some 70 African Americans immediately after the World War I. The Klan was an organization funded by political opportunist who had acquired power through appeal to the prejudice of the predominantly uneducated White Americans, and which promoted racial bigotry that the white race was superior (Ch8 130-131).

Again, during the World War I, President Woodrow Wilson described the War as “White man’s war.” Such statements undermined the gained achieved in promoting equality, as witnessed in the West after the Civil War. During the First World War, African American soldiers were assigned menial positions, just like during the Civil War (Zinn 350-6; Bederman 106). Indeed, JR Johnson explained that among the 200,000 Africans dispatched to France, 160,000 served as labor battalions and servants. The black troops, who had initially been intended to share caps with the White troops were instead given separate segregated units and were not allowed to train with the White troop (Ch7 108). To the African Americans, the feeling of disillusionment regarding racism was precipitated by the way in which the French race treated the Negroes with indulgence and tolerance. This contradicted the manner in which the Negroes were regarded to be of inferior race in the United States (Ch7 120-121).

Because of such discriminatory tendencies within the United States Army, the African American started realizing how oppressive the American society was. Still, they felt an intense sense of patriotism and were predominantly hopeful that the situation back home would change. Accordingly, the World War I brought about several changes. Among the predominant changes included greater levels of employment of African Americans in the North and consequent migration from the South to the North (Ch8 1308).

Second World War

The African American perceived the Second World War differently to the Civil War and the World War I. Extreme awareness, which had come up during the 1940s, enormously contradicted the perception that they were fighting for universal democracy, and which they would ultimately experience in the United States (Harper 162-5). Indeed, it could be argued that during the Second World War, the African Americans compared how they were treated in the United States and the manner in which the Nazis treated the minorities in Germany. Without a doubt, therefore, World War I and World War II intensified class and racial conflicts (Zinn 350).

This is evidenced by the manner in which disillusionment became widespread across America, as seen in the emergence of civil rights movements. The Black minority groups started to recognize that the Second World War provided an opportunity to raise issues regarding racial discrimination (Harper 162-5). Examples include the March on Washington by “Randolph’s Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters.” Consequently, President Roosevelt issued an Executive Order in 1941 to put an end to all forms of discrimination. Despite this, he failed to stop the racial discrimination that pervaded the military (Bederman 114).

The feeling of disillusioned intensified that the White Americans engaged in a peaceful protest in order to resist drafting into the army. They refused to consent to Jim Crow segregation in the army. In response, discrimination intensified, leading to lynching by the White mobs (Ch8 132-4). Back at home, discrimination continued. It could be reasoned that the African Americans had learned, based on their experiences in the World War I, which the United States was the most discriminatory of all the allies. Hence, a return to experiences of discrimination and segregation during the Second World War triggered politicization of the African Americans. As a result, after the World War II, many Black protest movements sprang up between 1950s and 1960s (Harper 162-5). Still, the larger American society realized incremental economic progress. The American government helped restore the nation’s economy by offering mortgage aid, relief, crop payments, as well as employment (Ch11 175-9).

Conclusion

The Civil War, World War I and World War II did little to stop racism in the United States. They only helped create strong awareness that excessive racism was not universal and, therefore, should be unacceptable in the United States. The Civil War put an end to slavery. However, it still paved the way for an end to racism. America’s participation in the World War II and the World War II also intensified discriminatory practices against the minority groups. After the Civil War and during the First World War, the American Society experienced faster growth of racism. Of the three events, the European settlers in America were the greatest beneficiaries as they experienced the greatest levels of social and economic emancipation.

Works Cited

Bedermen. “Gendering Imperialism: Theodore Roosevelt’s Quest for Manhood and Empire.”

Chapter 2. “Western Settlement and the Frontier in American History.”

Chapter 7. “America Goes to War.”

Chapter 8. “Intolerance: A Bitter Legacy of Social Change.”

Chapter 11. “World War II: The Home Front.”

Foner. “Reconstruction 1865-1877.”

Harper, Marylin. “World War II & The American Home Front: A National Historic Landmarks Theme Study.” The National Historic Landmarks Program Cultural Resources: Washington DC, 2007