How the Military Has Affected Societal Changes: Part I

That’s right. Throughout the history of the United States, society has seen many modifications that started with simple changes in the way its own Military operated - from issues like race, segregation, and gender. All of these at one point in time were considered to be evil-incarnate, and allowing any of these to exist would bring about the apocalypse. Yet, when the United States needed people to step up and help defend what she stood for, every able-bodied man that was unafraid to answer the call stood up and chose to serve under Old Glory.

While it isn’t a very popular subject, at one point in time, the color of your skin meant a lot to the world. It is something you have absolutely no control over. It is something you are born with, granted to you by your parents. In this day and age, the Americas were young and full of potential. So when the colonies called for freedom from Empire’s many months away by boat, a call to arms was sent forth. In the North, any man who stood up and answered the call was given a position and duty yet, in the South, they feared that arming slaves would empower them, and give them opportunities to strike back against their owners.

There are many regiments from the Revolutionary War forward wherein African-Americans played essential roles. Many of them served as orderlies, mechanics, laborers, servants, scouts, guides, and spies. African-American troops have been documented in every war or skirmish since the birth of the United States. But they were not recognized and respected until the Civil War.

President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation into being on January 1, 1863. It effectively freed over 3 million slaves from servitude, if they could escape their confederate masters and make it into Union-occupied territory. They were then given the option to join the Union Army and help quell the Confederacy. Nearly 200,000 newly freed African-American slaves joined the Union Army.

Following multiple accounts of bravery, it became an accepted truth: regardless of the color of your skin, there was a place for you in the United States Military. And so, many great “colored” regiments came into existence. From World War I, the 92nd Infantry Division: 369th Infantry Regiment “Harlem Hellfighters”. And from World War II, The 332nd Fighter Group “The Tuskegee Airman”.

Because of the brave acts of some men who stood up to answer their Nation’s call, no one can deny that a man is a man regardless of the color of their skin. Slowly, over the course of a couple centuries this has become the norm. A man, regardless of his skin color, can do the same job as the man next to him.

The battle for true freedom was long and arduous. While the color of a man’s skin did not instantly mean he was a slave, it didn’t give him true freedom. Thus, the fight for Desegregation ensued. This was a time when all men were free, but many of the established “White” businesses would not serve “Black” people. Freed from slavery, yet they were still denied and shunned. Society gave them their own sitting rooms walled off from the rest of civilization. Free from slavery, yet oppressed. Few were able to find good jobs, except from the plantations they were freed from. They were still oppressed in every way conceivable, yet they were free to choose where they lived. Segregation and racial treatment was still a big and hefty issue until July 26, 1948 when President Harry S. Truman signed Executive Order 9981.

Truman’s order desegregated the military and mandated the equality of treatment and opportunity. It also made it illegal, per military law, to make any racist remarks. This was a first and major win in the long and hefty battle that was segregation and racism. It took until 1954 for all segregated units to fully disband and integrate into other units. It took a total of six long years for the military to fully change its outlook towards race and color.