1862: Congress authorizes recruitment of Black soldiers
- Frederick Douglass // Wikimedia Commons
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The Second Confiscation and Militia Act in 1862 made it legal for black men to enlist in the Union army, stating that a “person of African descent [of any rank] . . . shall receive $10 per month . . . $3 of which monthly pay may be in clothing.” Meanwhile, white soldiers earned $13 a month with no clothing allowance deducted. Two years later, Congress made it so Black soldiers received equal pay.
Frederick Douglass // Wikimedia Commons
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