" The slaves tried to be
contented, but they preferred freedom and knew which side to take when
the time came for them to act.
Enough has been said to show that out of the African slave had been
developed a thoroughly American slave, so well imbued with modern
civilization and so well versed in American politics, as to be
partially ready for citizenship. He had become law-abiding and
order-loving, and possessed of an intelligent desire to be free.
Whether he had within him the necessary moral elements to become a
soldier the pages following will attempt to make known. He had the
numbers, the physical strength and the intelligence. He could enter
the strife with a sufficient comprehension of the issues involved to
enable him to give to his own heart a reason for his action. Fitness
for the soldier does not necessarily involve fitness for citizenship,
but the actual discharge of the duties of the soldier in defence of
the nation, entitles one to all common rights, to the nation's
gratitude, and to the highest honors for which he is qualified.
In concluding this chapter I shall briefly return to the free colored
people of the South that the reader may be able to properly estimate
their importance as a separate element. Their influence upon the slave
population was very slight, inasmuch as law and custom forbade the
intercourse of these two classes.
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