MILITARY DISCRIMINIATION ON BLACKS DURING THE RECONSTRUCTION PERIOD Thesis Proposal

MILITARY DISCRIMINIATION ON BLACKS DURING THE RECONSTRUCTION PERIOD - Thesis Proposal Example t the outset for their right to bear arms; however the discrimination against them continued even into the war and into measures that were instituted later to put into practices the objective of the Civil War and integrate them into the mainstream. As Frederick Douglass stated: "Once let the black man get upon his person the brass letter, U.S., let him get an eagle on his button, and a musket on his shoulder and bullets in his pocket, there is no power on earth that can deny that he has earned the right to citizenship." (www.archives.gov). The fact that these blacks had fought in the military and supported the noble cause of their nation by bearing arms should have itself counted a great deal towards ensuring that they were treated as equal citizens in American society. However, as the detailed account below shows, America during and after the Civil War was a racially segregated society, in which blacks had been demeaned for generations. The measures instituted to achieve equality were therefore not always successful, rather the discrimination and segregation which had already existed in society continued on even during the reconstruction period. While the objective of federal legislation and constitutional amendments were the achievement of equality, the actual practice lay in the hands of the local and state Governments, which perhaps serves to explain why the discrimination in the military and towards black soldiers continued on in the reconstruction period. A notable example of military discrimination may be noted in the GI bill, which purportedly provided educational opportunities for black soldiers to advance themselves and improve their prospects. Humes (2006) gives the example of a young black American named Monte Posey, who had suffered a disappointment in his military career when his elite training as a fighter pilot came abruptly to an end after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, because military aviators had become superfluous. Posey had been offered two