African Americans After Civil War

will go alone- can be set up, the Blacks must be enfranchised or they will be ready and willing to fight for a government of their own’.”
“The presence of Negro troops in the state (Mississippi) caused bitter complaint. On January 5, 1865, there were 8,784 Negro troops and 338 Negro officers. The President promised to remove them as soon as possible. Sharkey (the governor) declared that they encouraged the belief among Negroes that lands were going to be distributed among them. By the 20th of May, 1866, all Black troops had been mustered out and removed from Mississippi.”
“Systematic effort was made during the whole period of Reconstruction to prevent Negroes from bearing arms. First there was the demand that Negro federal troops be immediately disbanded of removed from the South. Then the White militia searched Negro dwellings for arms and took them away.”
at 30,000,000; the population of
African Americans at as many as 8,000,000. At the close of the war at least 90 per cent of the Black population was concentrated in the South. The vast majority of the White population was in the urban centers of the North. We actually outnumbered White inhabitants of the