Glory is a movie that depicts the African American struggle for equality and sense of identity in
America, specifically told from the view of colored soldiers during the American Civil War.
Ever since the United States has been created, there has been a rift between what has been
written and said, as opposed to what has been done and enacted. Even the Declaration of
Independence, which clearly States that “All men are created equal, and are endowed by their creator
with certain unalienable rights.” and yet failed to move many people in early America to see some other
people such as Blacks as equals and brothers rather than inferior beings and property. The cotton boom
in the south following the invention of Eli Whitney’s cotton gin along with the further development of
agriculture in the American south further deepened these feeling of supremacy and inferiority and
entrenched them behind economic, social, political, and cultural barriers. In 1793 the First Fugitive Slave
act even classified slaves as property rather than people and the Dred Scott vs. Stanford Supreme court
Ruling of March 6th 1857 deemed blacks to not even be citizens of the United States since their origin
was from Africa and they did not go through the normal federal naturalization process. (Dred Scott v.
Sandford) This is how blacks were viewed by many in America and it would take drastic measures in
order to change these views, something that colored regiments provided.
Many say that war is the great equalizer, when you are in danger it does not matter who stands
beside you. The men of the colored regiments had to prove that they were just like any other man in the
service; better even In order to change people’s view of them. Even in the service they had to endure
discrimination and inequality. As was shown in the movie, they were given the least consideration at the
quartermasters, having war supplies delivered to other regiments before them, having to be in an all
colored regiment with white officers, and having to face ridicule from other soldiers, and were not given
quarter by confederation troops in battle. Yet despite all this they proved that they proved their bravery,
their ability in battle, and their belief that there was a better future out there for blacks in America, and
that they and others were willing to fight in order to make it so. They proved themselves by
volunteering to go into combat when they could have been used as labor behind lines instead, taking on
the most dangerous and difficult combat operations and in the end, by making the ultimate sacrifice.
One of the greatest challenges facing these men was the need to change people views of them
and their identity. They needed to make people think of them as men not Negroes. In order to do this
they fought the discrimination they faced. An example of this in the movie would be when the men
were paid; they were paid less than white soldiers for exactly the same job. A soldier even jokingly
exclaimed that Black soldiers stop bullets just as good as white ones AND they are even cheaper than
them as well. So instead of accepting this discrimination they tore up their pay stubs rather than accept
this obvious discrimination. They even could have stayed safe behind the lines the whole war being used
as manual labor, but instead they insist on going into combat. Their example and ultimate sacrifice at
Fort Wagner would inspire other blacks to serve in uniform and prove that black people were willing to
fight and die for the belief that freedom from discrimination and equality was possible.
Blacks have served in all American wars In one way or another either as soldiers or as noncombat staff. About 180,000 African American soldiers served during the Civil War and served as an
example not only to blacks of the day but would serve as an inspiration to future generations as well.
The struggle for black equality in the military carried on even after the civil war through the Spanish
American war, World War I, and World War II. These men would eventually come home and fight for
equality at home as well. Many members of civil right movement groups were former war veterans and
used their status to fight for equality. Their status as veterans gave them the advantage of being
considered a hero and therefore people were much more open to discussion with them and were more
open to change if they thought that the person’s argument was just.
Men in the service also forced the federal government to recognize the rights of African
Americans and treat them as citizens, for only citizens can be soldiers. The war, the involvement of black
troops, and the addition of amendments to the constitution, lead to the overturning of many old
decisions, laws and precedents that supported slavery and inequality such as (Dred Scott v. Sandford)
and the Kansas Nebraska Act and fostered the development of new political and social laws and views
such as the thirteenth amendment and fifteenth amendment. The preamble of the United States
Constitution is as follows “We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union,
establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general
welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this
Constitution for the United States of America.” (The Constitution of the United States)The men of the
colored regiments helped make these points true for all people and helped to preserve the union that
supported these ideals, and even today many people fight to preserve these ideas and bring equality to
all not just African Americans.
In conclusion the movie Glory documented the struggles of men in colored regiments and makes
us appreciate all that has been done by these brave people in order to secure not only their own
liberties, but the liberties of others as well.
Free verse poem
We are the sable sons of Africa
We march in file one, two three,
All of their eyes they are staring at me
The sound of fife
The beat of drum
The only sound of salute that is found
The barking and baying of feral hounds
We march down the street
Under Spanish moss covered trees
Our shows torn and ragged our dead in wagons
Yet it is not frowns that grip us
Rather the realization of our status
As we gaze upon the lordly princes of the south
Brought low by our visage
We remember the words of ecclesiastical verse
“Vanity of Vanities all is Vanity”
Reflection
For this project I first tried to try and fit it into the theme we have been discussing Identity, Privilege,
and Inequality. I tried to base my paper off of this model and have my points address these issues. I used
this movie for my analysis because of its roots in historical events and its strong message not only to
African Americans, but to all people that freedom, equality and justice are worth fighting for. I am
deeply fascinated with, and enjoy history and have even considered majoring in it, and throughout all of
American history I see the civil war as the greatest shaper of who and what it is to be an American, and
it was men like the colored troops who turned what would have been a bloody war over states’ rights,
and federal power and transformed it into something higher, A fight, not for governments, not for glory,
but a fight for human dignity, justice, self-assurance and the promise of a better future. This serves as
an example to all people that justice, equality, and freedom is earned not given. For my adaptation
poem, I called upon a story that I heard of a black soldier and former slave on patrol duty in occupied
New Orleans during the civil war and how he noted that for the first time he walked down the street and
did not have to bow to those walking past or say anything such as “sir”, and how liberating that felt. I
also drew inspiration from the letters and speeches of Fredric Douglass a former slave and very
intelligent man that was a major force for equality and freedom during the civil war, and who makes a
short appearance in the film as well. I also drew a verse from the bible, specifically ecclesiastics, that
uses the different meanings behind the word vanity to portray the feeling of the black troops. Vanity can
refer to appearance In one definition and mean worthless or trivial in another. So another way of
translating this final verse in a clearer way would say “trivial appearances are all worthless”
Bibliography
Constitutional Convention. "The Constitution of the United States of America." The Constitution of the
United States of America. Philadelphia, 17 September 1787.
Dred Scott v. Sandford. No. 60 U.S. 393. The Supreme Court of the United States of America. 6 March
1856.