Throughout the nineteenth century, questions around freedom and slavery dominated the national political landscape. As Americans expanded their territory further west, these questions grew ever more important. Should slavery be allowed into new territories? If the new states were free, they posed a political threat to the slaveholding South, which heavily relied on slave labor. If the states allowed slavery, slavery’s opponents feared that the reach and power of slavery would continue to grow, and the South would control the political and social landscape of the United States as a slave power.[1] These divisions and the anxieties they created were a threat to national unity to white Americans. To Black Americans, this meant opposition from both sides. On the one hand, abolitionists saw enslavement as a threat to free labor and sought to free enslaved people; on the other, free Black Americans were a threat to white labor and social unity, leaving little room for a robust Black presence in American society.

While Black Americans struggled to find political agency and rights within the antebellum United States, they continued using their voices to influence white society. When the Civil War presented an opportunity, Black Americans proved they were willing to fight for a better life, and their wartime bravery led white leaders to re-consider their place in society. While Black political movements saw challenges after the war, Black men who had not held the right to citizenship or suffrage before the war could seek political office. Black communities met this newfound political agency with enthusiasm and a deep understanding of its importance in their lives. They hosted political speeches, advocated for Black issues, and planned their tickets according to what seemed best for their communities. The war provided the necessary change for Black communities to exercise this right.