“I Hope to Have Justice Done Me or I Can’t Get Along Here”: James Webster Smith and West Point

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dc.contributor.authorMcGovern, Rory
dc.contributor.authorCampbell, Makonen
dc.contributor.authorKoebrich, Louisa
dc.date.accessioned2024-04-11T13:01:34Z
dc.date.available2024-04-11T13:01:34Z
dc.date.issued2023-10
dc.description.abstractJames W. Smith’s experience as West Point’s first Black cadet is a microcosm of Reconstruction and the struggle to integrate West Point. It began with the best of intentions, but ultimately failed due to a destructive combination of racist antipathy and the apathy of those who could have intervened on his behalf. His extraordinary persistence and perseverance changed the environment at the Academy, forcing the West Point community to shift from active to passive resistance. Although he did not reap the rewards himself, Smith made graduation possible, if still not probable, for those African American cadets who followed.
dc.description.sponsorshipDepartment of History
dc.identifier.citationMcGovern, Rory, Makonen Campbell, and Louisa Koebrich. “‘I Hope to Have Justice Done Me or I Can’t Get Along Here’: James Webster Smith and West Point.” Journal of Military History 87, no. 4 (October 2023): 964–1003.
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14216/1475
dc.publisherThe Journal of Military History
dc.subjectJames Webster Smith
dc.subjectUnited States Military Academy
dc.subjectWest Point
dc.subjectReconstruction
dc.subjectIntegration
dc.subjectBlack Military Service
dc.subjectBlack Army Officers
dc.subjectRacism
dc.title“I Hope to Have Justice Done Me or I Can’t Get Along Here”: James Webster Smith and West Point
dc.typeJournal articles
local.USMAemailrory.mcgovern@westpoint.edu
local.peerReviewedYes

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