The aftermath of African-American Civil War soldiers in American society
Holly A. Pinheiro, Jr.
Major: History
Mentor: Dr. John Sacher, History
Holly Anthony Pinheiro, Jr. was born in Portsmouth, VA. His research interests include African-American Union soldiers, the Civil War, and Jim Crow Era and its effects on African-American Union soldiers. In addition to research through the McNair program, he is involved in the UCF Research and Mentoring Program (RAMP) and the President’s Leadership Council. He is interested in attending a doctoral program focusing on African-American history.
The following abstract is from research conducted at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, under the guidance of Dr. James D. Anderson (Educational Policy Studies), as part of their Summer Research Opportunities Program.
There are many questions regarding what happened in the lives of former African American Confederate and Union soldiers after the Civil War. This research explores the differences in life experiences between the men who fought bravely for freedom (or for those who fought on the Confederate side, under the false promise of freedom), only to be forced into second class citizenship in the Reconstruction Era under Jim Crow policies. By comparing written documents (memoirs, journals or newspaper), and secondary sources, to my data, then synthesizing the information, I will write my conclusions. I plan to show that through this comparative study, these former soldiers’ lives were difficult during a time when racial segregation was governmentally and socially supported. Through this project, I hope to enlighten readers to the heavy persecution and disappearance from history books these men faced for over 100 years.