History of the American Negro in the Great World War: His Splendid Record in the Battle Zones of Europe; Including a Resume of His Past Services to his Country in the Wars of the Revolution, of 1812, the War of Rebellion, the Indian Wars on the Frontier, the Spanish-American War, and the Late Imbroglio With MexicoSweeney, William Allison
History
History of the American Negro in the Great World War: His Splendid Record in the Battle Zones of Europe; Including a Resume of His Past Services to his Country in the Wars of the Revolution, of 1812, the War of Rebellion, the Indian Wars on the Frontier, the Spanish-American War, and the Late Imbroglio With Mexico
Sweeney, William Allison
African American soldiers; African Americans -- History -- 1877-1964; World War, 1914-1918 -- Participation, African American
Results of the classification of December 15, 1917 to September 11,
1918, in respect to colored and white registrants are shown in the
following table:
Colored and white classification compared. Number. Percent Percent
of total of
classified. classified.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total colored and white registered:
June 5, 1917, to Sept. 11, 1918 10,640,846 100.00 -----
Total colored registered 1,078,331 10.13 100.00
Class I 556,917 ----- 51.65
Deferred classes 521,414 ----- -----
Total white registered 9,562,515 89.87 100.00
Class I 3,110,659 ----- 32.53
Deferred classes 6,451,856 ----- -----
Percentage accepted for service on calls before Dec. 15, 1917 (report for 1917).
Colored ----- ----- 36.23
White ----- ----- 24.75
It will be seen that a much higher percentage of Negroes were accepted
for service than of white men. It is true that enlistments which were
permitted white men but denied Negroes, depleted the whites eligible to
Class I to some extent. Probably there were more Negro delinquents in
proportion to their numbers in the south than white delinquents. The
conditions under which they lived would account for that. Delinquents,
under the regulations, were placed in Class 1. Then there is the
undoubted fact that the Negro sought and was granted fewer exemptions on
the ground of dependency. Many Negroes in the south, where the rate of
pay was low, were put in Class I on the ground that their allotment and
allowances while in the army, would furnish an equivalent support to
their dependents. But whatever the reason, the great fact stands out
that a much greater percentage of colored were accepted for service than
white men. The following table gives the colored and white inductions by
states:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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