Existing comment:
"Our union friends say... we are fighting for the union... very well let the white fight for what the[y] want and we negroes fight for what we want... Liberty must take the day and nothing Shorter."
-- A "colored man," New Orleans, 1863
In 1860:
* United States Population: 31,443,321
* African American Population: 4,441,830
* Enslaved Population: 3,953,760
* All states restricted the rights of African Americans and slavery was legal in 15 states |