Philippine E-Journals

White Man's Burden, Black Man's Burden: The Role of Black Americans in the Building of the Post-1898 United States Overseas Empire

Gregory Wright

Discipline: History

 

Abstract:

Influenced by the thinking of the times, in 1898 the United States joined other western countries in seeking "a place in the sun" by acquiring the Philippines and other overseas possessions. Black Americans, legally free since 1863 but still victims of much discrimination, distinguished themselves in the conflicts this involved but without in any way improving their situation as regards the white majority in their country.