How Did African Americans Make Fine Soldiers

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The long and bloody Civil War moved the United States closer to the American’s founding ideals . Frederick Douglass expressed, “Colored men were good enough to fight under Washington, but they are not good enough to fight under [General George] McClellan.” Northerners doubted that African American would make fine soldiers. The African Americans proved that they still were good enough to fight in the 54th Massachusetts Regiment and earned their respect from the white officers because they fought bravely. As the African American troops earned their way into the military, they were paid as laborers and earned $10 a month, while the white soldiers were paid $13. In November 1863, a company of black soldiers stacked their weapons and refused

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