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ACTIVITY #2
African-American Troops and Robert Gould Shaw of the 54th
Massachusetts Regiment
Introduction
Will the slave fight? If any man asks you, tell him "no"…
But, if anyone asks you, will a Negro fight? Tell him YES!
--Abolitionist Wendell Phillips
One of the ironies of the Civil War was that in a fight to end slavery, African-Americans were
initially denied the right to participate. During the first two years of fighting, President Abraham
Lincoln claimed the fight was to save the Union, and that African-Americans had no place in the
war. However, with the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation, the objectives of the war
changed and African-American regiments were formed.
Overview
This activity helps students understand the impact of the Emancipation Proclamation on
changing the nature of the war, as well as how that change was manifested in the entry of
African-Americans to the Union cause. In this activity, students view a video clip from The Civil
War on the formation of African-American regiments, particularly the 54th Massachusetts
Regiment, explaining the difficulty African-American soldiers faced in being accepted as equals
and how their bravery brought a modicum of acceptance, albeit reluctantly, by white soldiers.
Students also analyze the final letter by Robert Gould Shaw, commander of the regiment, to his
wife the day before the Union assault on Battery Wagner. Student questions provided here can be
used for general class discussion or individual assessment. Answers to the questions are
included.
Resources

Letter from Robert Gould Shaw to his wife Annie

Video Clip
 Bottom Rail on Top
(Episode 5, Chapter 8)
Lesson Standards
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McREL
U.S. History
 Standard 14: Understands the course and character of the Civil War and its effects
on the American people
o Level II (Grades 5-6)
 Understands the provisions, and significance, of the Emancipation
Proclamation (e.g., reasons Abraham Lincoln issued it, public
reactions to it in the North and the South).
 Understands the impact of the Civil War on social and gender issues
(e.g., the roles of women on the home front and on the battlefield; the
human and material costs of the war, the degree to which the war
united the nation, and how it changed the lives of American women,
men, and children).
o Level III (Grade 7-8)
 Understands how different groups of people shaped the Civil War
(e.g., the motives and experiences of Confederate and white and
African-American Union soldiers, different perspectives on
conscription, the effects of divided loyalties)
o Level IV (Grade 9-12)
 Understands how the Civil War influenced both military personnel and
civilians (e.g., the treatment of African-American soldiers in the Union
Army and Confederacy, how the war changed gender roles and
traditional attitudes toward women in the work force)
Common Core
Key Ideas and Details
 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.2
o Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source;
provide an accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course
of the text.
Craft and Structure
 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.4
o Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including
vocabulary describing political, social, or economic aspects of history/social
science.
 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.5
o Analyze how a text uses structure to emphasize key points or advance an
explanation or analysis.
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Extension Activities

Have students compare the situations and prejudices faced by the 54th Massachusetts
Regiment with those faced by the Tuskegee Airmen in World War II. Students might
also research the roles of African-Americans (and other minorities) in World War II,
the types of duties they had compared to white soldiers, as well as their treatment in
society in general during the 1940s. Formulate an assessment of the similarities and
differences in duties, treatment and prejudice the two groups faced.

In an earlier letter Colonel Shaw wrote to his wife Annie on June 9, 1863, he
described the Raid at Darin, Georgia. In the letter, he described an altercation he had
with his commander, Colonel James Montgomery. Colonel Montgomery ordered
Shaw to have his men loot residents’ homes and then burn the town down. Stage
mock trial of Colonel Shaw, presuming he refused to follow orders as suggested in
the letter. Students may be assigned roles of Colonel Shaw, Colonel Montgomery,
and other officers and soldiers. Open with a morality question of honor versus
obligation: Does a soldier’s obligation to follow orders outweigh refusing to do
something he believes morally wrong? (Other examples the teacher might draw on
regarding this issue include whether Nazi concentration camp guards could be tried as
war criminals if they were simply following orders, the role of American soldiers
involved in the My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War, American soldier
treatment of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Graib prison,).
This Activity was written by Michael Hutchison and Greg Timmons.
About the Authors
Michael Hutchison is the social studies department chair at Lincoln High School. Vincennes, Indiana.
He has more than 35 years of classroom teaching experience, and has written lessons for several Ken
Burns films, including The Civil War, Empire of the Air, Horatio’s Drive, Unforgivable Blackness, The
War, Baseball, The Tenth Inning, Prohibition, The Dust Bowl, and The Roosevelts: An Intimate History.
He is past president of the Indiana Computer Educators. In 2014, he was named winner of the Caleb
Mills Indiana History Teacher of the Year Award by the Indiana Historical Society.
Greg Timmons has been a social studies teacher for over 30 years. He has written lessons for several
PBS productions including The NewsHour, FRONTLINE, and various Ken Burns’s productions including
The War, The National Parks: America’s Best Idea Baseball, Prohibition and The Dust Bowl.” He resides
in Montana and Washington state.
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