The United States Would Not Exist Today Without African Americans, Free & Enslaved

By Scotty T. Reid, BTRN - African Americans played a crucial role in the Union's victory over the Confederacy during the American Civil War. Still, European descendant people like Donald Trump and, Ron Desantis, both of whom are descended from immigrants arriving after the American Civil War, have both honored and celebrated the Confederacy's attempt to destroy the United States to preserve slavery. While people of African descent initially faced discrimination and were not allowed to serve in the Union Army, as the war progressed, the need for more troops led to the acceptance of African American soldiers who would fight for the cause of abolishing slavery in many ways.



For these proud soldiers, it was never about keeping the Union together as was Lincoln's initial goal, and abolishing slavery was only secondary when it was clear it would help the Union Army recruitment. African American soldiers, known then as the United States Colored Troops (USCT), served with distinction and valor, proving their bravery and dedication to the cause once it became about abolishing the enslavement of African descendant persons in the United States. Their contributions in battles like the Battle of Fort Wagner and the Battle of the Crater showcased their military prowess which would be duplicated in all the wars and military conflicts the United States would entangle itself in over the next 150 years.



Moreover, during the American Civil War, African Americans also played essential roles in providing crucial support as laborers, nurses, spies, and soldiers. Their participation in the war effort further highlighted the injustice of slavery and helped build momentum for the abolitionist cause.



The federal government's allowance of African Americans, free or enslaved, to enlist as combat soldiers and otherwise lend assistance, was to officially recognize their importance in the Union's fight with the Confederates in preserving the nation.



Overall, African Americans' well-documented contributions were so vital to the Union's ultimate victory over the Confederacy that we should keep in mind if not for them there would no longer be a United States of America, and instead, a Confederate States of America would exist in its place. The racial terrorist organization the Klu Klux Klan would be founded by ex-Confederate officers and soldiers after the Civil War who were hell-bent on preying upon vulnerable African Americans, former victims of slavery, to exact revenge on them for their losses during the war.



Unfortunately, these former Confederate white supremacist ideology would greatly influence politics, and politicians would implement discriminatory laws at all levels of government whether local municipalities, state legislatures, and governors all working in tandem to deprive African Americans, saviors of the Union, of their civil rights after a failed attempt at Reconstruction in the South. It was President Grant who would implement federal policies to combat this widespread racism and he was successful in destroying the Klan but sadly, subsequent presidents would allow and even support the resurrection of the terrorist organization.



Individuals today in the South and scattered elsewhere about the nation but seeming concentrated in the Republican Party, can’t seem to get over the outcome of the war. Many of the modern neo-confederates' ancestors or family lineage only began well after the civil war in wave after wave of European immigrants over the decades that would follow so it stands to reason that practicing white supremacy against non-white people is what attracts them to Confederate Lost Cause, mythology Take the two top presumed contenders for the GOP nomination for President, Donald Trump and Ron Desantis both of whom have promoted or passed legislation or used regulatory powers that are widely considered anti-black, anti-African American,