Manning shows how slavery was a key issue in the years leading up to the war, and fomented tensions throughout the war years too. In the chapter "Many Are the Hearts that are Weary Tonight," Manning discusses the "paradoxical nature of black Union soldiers' experiences, and the war in general," as black soldiers were not treated or paid equally with their white counterparts (Manning 147). Emancipation was one thing; equality yet another. As a political impetus, emancipation provided the motivation for fighting for the Union and yet the practical and pragmatic realities of ensuring the deeper principles of equality remained unresolved. There was no overarching vision for what the nation would look like once the war was over, leading ultimately to a failed program of Reconstruction.
Race became a powerful propaganda weapon during the final war years, especially in the South but in the North as well. Some of the propaganda demoralized the Union troops, suggesting for instance that Lincoln was "prolonging the war…to advance black rights at the expense of whites," (Manning 154). Although Union soldiers were fighting for emancipation on paper or in theory, their personal beliefs often remained bigoted. Many opposed...
Many white soldiers disliked fighting alongside blacks. The irony led to serious cognitive dissonance among the troops, as white Union soldiers continued to believe in their cause on one level, while on another shirked from the work that needed to be done to eliminate the root problem of racism. Some even went so far as to claim to be "for liberty -- but not for equality," (Manning 157). The real questions of what to do about race relations when the war was over loomed.
The war was being fought ostensibly over slavery, but whites in the north and south continued to share the same racist beliefs. Northerners were faced with several challenges during these critical years in the war. On the one hand, ending slavery was the calling card of the Union. Slavery was believed to be tearing apart the nation, and therefore, slavery became a symbolic cause most of all. On the other hand, whites were unwilling to acknowledge the fact that ending slavery meant guaranteeing the rights of blacks. Racist whites fighting against slavery were still racist; and their morale in the war was diminished due to their…
