Slavery and the Homefront, 1775–1783
No African-American colonist signed the Declaration of Independence. Indeed, despite the Patriots' common use of the words slavery, tyranny, and oppression in making a case for separation from Great Britain, the signers of the Declaration did not consider the slavery as it was lived by African-American colonists a cause for revolution. Holding no promise for freedom for the men and women in bondage, the American Revolution posed difficult choices for black colonists. For some, the Revolution's rhetoric of freedom raised the hope that the ideals of the Revolution would mean freedom for all Americans. Despite the lack of a clear statement from the Patriots on how the Revolution could benefit African Americans, black militiamen took part in the Revolution's initial skirmishes at Lexington and Concord, and by the end of the conflict an estimated 5,000 African-American colonists had served the Patriot cause on land and sea. However, not all African-American colonists supported the fight for independence. As Benjamin Quarles writes in his classic The Negro in the American Revolution, many were likely "to join the side that made [them] the quickest and best offer in terms of those inalienable rights'" (p. vii). Still others fled the colonies altogether, settling in Canada or Florida or on Indian land.
This is a free page. This page contains 201 words. This
article contains 1,657 words (approx. 6 pages at 300
words per page).
Read the rest of this Article with our Slavery and the Homefront, 1775–1783 Access Pass.
