Free blacks were becoming more common in the south by 1810. As a result free blacks made up 10.4 percent of the blacks in the upper south and 3.9 percent in the deep south(Klinkner and Smith, p. 21). The main reason for the rise in these numbers was because slaves that served in the military during the Revolution were promised freedom. Even after promising freedom to their slaves, many of the slave owners tried to go back on their word to regain their “slaves”, but this angered Virginia governor Benjamin Harrison. Harrison acted on this saying that such efforts violated “common principles of justice and humanity”(Klinker and Smith, p.21). Harrison worked to ensure that all the former slaves that served in the Revolutionary War were freed. The revolution was a time where the Blacks were able to show that really deserved to be treated as equals to their fellow white man. During the time of the revolution there was a growing belief in egalitarianism. Egalitarianism is the belief that all people are equal and deserve to have equal rights and opportunities. As a result of egalitarianism some southern slave of owner to start to release their slaves. An example used in The Unsteady March of …show more content…
It wasn’t until September 1861 when the federal government recognized that former slaves had any usefulness in war efforts. The secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles began to allow former slaves to enlist in the Navy. Eventually 29,000 freed blacks would serve in the Unions Navy. In The Unsteady March it was stated by Welles that “all of our increased military strength now comes from Negroes”(Klinker and Smith, p. 55). Welles was saying that allowing blacks to enlist in the Navy made them much stronger. Then in the following month the government started to take some steps to allow blacks to join the army, but in a very limited capacity. The President called for three hundred thousand men to serve and help bring the war to a speedy end. Soon after that he called for another three hundred thousand troops to serve and this time around the men in the north were much more reluctant to join. This change happened because it became apparent that the Union was not going to have a quick victory and there was an increase in Union casualties. Some places had to impose drafts because their quotas were not being met. This lead to riots breaking out(Klinker and Smith, p. 58). The Union government began to reassess the value of the blacks in war efforts. This lead to shift in believing that the Union should start allowing blacks