[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 27 (Friday, February 18, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E269]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE START OF CIVIL WAR AND CONTRIBUTIONS OF 
                           AFRICAN AMERICANS

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 17, 2011

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise to ask the House of Representatives 
to join me in recognizing the 150th anniversary of the start of the 
Civil War and the contributions of African Americans in abolishing 
slavery.
  The Association for the Study of African American Life and History, 
ASALH, selected ``African Americans and the Civil War'' as its 2011 
National Black History theme to show appreciation for the successful 
efforts of free and enslaved African Americans, during the Civil War, 
to end slavery. ASALH has issued a statement, which I bring to the 
Floor:
  In 1861, as the United States stood at the brink of Civil War, people 
of African descent, both enslaved and free persons, waited with a 
watchful eye. They understood that a war between the North and the 
South might bring about jubilee--the destruction of slavery and 
universal freedom. When the Confederacy fired upon Fort Sumter and war 
ensued, President Abraham Lincoln maintained that the paramount cause 
was to preserve the Union, not end slavery. Frederick Douglass, the 
most prominent black leader, opined that regardless of intentions, the 
war would bring an end to slavery, America's ``peculiar institution.''
  Over the course of the war, the 4 million people of African descent 
in the United States proved Douglass right. Free and enslaved blacks 
rallied around the Union flag in the cause of freedom. From the cotton 
and tobacco fields of the South to the small towns and big cities of 
the North, nearly 200,000 joined the Grand Army of the Republic and 
took up arms to destroy the Confederacy. They served as recruiters, 
soldiers, nurses, and spies, and endured unequal treatment, massacres, 
and riots as they pursued their quest for freedom and equality. Their 
record of service speaks for itself, and Americans have never fully 
realized how their efforts saved the Union.
  In honor of the efforts of people of African descent to destroy 
slavery and inaugurate universal freedom in the United States, the 
Association for the Study of African American Life and History has 
selected ``African Americans and the Civil War'' as the 2011 National 
Black History Theme. We urge all Americans to study and reflect on the 
value of their contributions to the nation.''
  Mr. Speaker, I ask the House of Representatives to join me in 
recognizing the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War, and applauding 
African Americans for their work to abolish slavery and for their 
contributions toward the equalization among American races.

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