The Right To Fight A History Of African Americans In The Military

by Astor, Gerald

• ISBN13: 9780306810312
• ISBN10: 030681031X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-04-26
• Publisher: Da Capo Press

Summary

From the birth of the United States, African American men and women have fought and died in defense of a nation that has often denied them many fundamental rights of citizenship. Now Gerald Astor has chronicled their efforts and accomplishments in this critically acclaimed survey. From Crispus Attucks, the first casualty of the American Revolution, to fighters on both sides of the Civil War, Astor moves to the postwar Indian campaigns and the infamous Brownsville riot. He also documents the prejudices and grievous wrongs that have kept African Americans from serviceand finally traces their ascent to the highest levels.The Right to Fightis a groundbreaking contribution to American history.

Author Biography

Gerald Astor is a prominent military historian and author whose previous books include A Blood-Dimmed Tide, The Greatest War, and The Mighty Eighth. He lives near New York City.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
Acknowledgments	ix
The Long Voyage	1	(5)
The Struggle Begins	6	(14)
The Civil War	20	(23)
The Buffalo Soldiers	43	(13)
The War with Spain	56	(20)
New Beginnings and Brownsville, Texas	76	(14)
Navy White, Pancho Villa, and Houston	90	(18)
World War I	108	(17)
Between the Wars	125	(20)
The Coming of World War II	145	(20)
Command and Control	165	(23)
Soldiers, Airmen, Sailors, and Marines	188	(43)
Combat and Other Battles	231	(28)
Forward Movement and Reversals	259	(18)
The End of the War and Return to the Past	277	(28)
Postmortems and Pullbacks	305	(18)
The Walls Begin to Tumble	323	(27)
Korea	350	(24)
Integration Begins	374	(25)
Policy and People	399	(21)
Vietnam	420	(25)
Rough Seas, Turbulent Air	445	(35)
Shifting Sands, Settling Down	480	(19)
After-Action Critique	499	(13)
Roll Call	512	(6)
Bibliography	518	(3)
Index	521