The Civil War, which took place in the United States from 1861 to 1865, had a significant impact on Black history. The primary cause of the war was the issue of slavery, with the Confederate states in the South seceding from the Union to protect their right to own slaves. Black people played a crucial role in the Civil War, both as soldiers in the Union army and as civilians who contributed to the war effort in various ways.

Approximately 180,000 Black soldiers served in the Union army during the Civil War, making up about 10% of the Union forces. Despite facing discrimination and unequal treatment, these soldiers fought bravely and played a vital role in securing victory for the Union. The most famous of these soldiers were the members of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, led by Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, whose bravery and sacrifice were immortalized in the movie "Glory."

The Emancipation Proclamation, issued by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, declared that all enslaved people in the Confederate states were to be set free. This marked a turning point in the war and transformed it into a conflict about ending slavery.

After the Civil War, the Reconstruction era saw significant advancements in civil rights for Black Americans, including the passage of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, which abolished slavery, granted citizenship and equal protection under the law, and protected the right to vote, respectively. Despite these advancements, the period following Reconstruction, known as the Jim Crow era, brought about institutionalized racism and segregation that would persist for many decades.

Overall, the Civil War was a pivotal moment in Black history, leading to the eventual abolition of slavery and laying the groundwork for the ongoing struggle for civil rights and racial equality in the United States.