Slaves played a fundamental role in the Civil War by helping the Union With the Union's victory against the confederacy blacks become one step closer to equality. The acceptance of runaway slaves into the union was against the Fugitive Slave law of 1850, but Union commanders eventually decided to take them in. Union commanders viewed salves as a major tool for the confederacy so by returning them the confederacy would have more laborers. Slaves in the confederacy served to to task such as digging trenches, moving supplies and producing food and other supplies for war. The Union commanders were hesitant to have blacks fight for the Union, but eventually formed troops composed of only black soldiers. Racial discrimination has been an issue for a long as different races have populated the same area. A large portion …show more content…
The fourteenth amendment was an effort to give everyone equal rights in the eyes of the law. Most southern states were in disagreement with the ratification of the fourteenth amendment, because it was intended to abolish slavery. Equality on paper didn’t translate equally into the real world because segregation wasn’t supported by all whites. Even though the fourteenth amendment stated that blacks were to be treated equal that was hardly ever the case. Blacks were still