Effects Of Slavery From 1770 To 1800

Slavery played enormous roles in shaping the Revolution and its immediate aftermath during the years 1770 to 1800. Slavery in the colonies during this time period outlined the hypocritical nature of the revolutionaries as best seen in this quote from Foner. “’How is it … that we hear the loudest yelps for liberty from the drivers of negroes?’” (Foner, page 232) However, slavery also was a crucial party of the Colonies’ economies leading to the argument that slavery won Americans their war for Independence because of French aid. Moreover, slavery became a very contentious issue for the Nation to address after her battle for freedom was over. This became apparent when the Second Continental Congress met to create the Articles of Confederation. The question of slavery drags on and leads to disastrous implications in the future.
This is the hypocrisy of the American Revolution. At the beginning of the War in 1775, George Washington was not allowing slaves into his army. Only after Lord Dunmore’s proclamation in 1775 offering freedom to slaves who joined the British cause did Washington start allowing slaves to fight for America’s freedom, and in turn their freedom from slavery. But Washington’s reaction to the slavery issue truly breathes life into the idea that the Revolutionists are hypocrites: the colonists vie for freedom while not allowing slaves to do anything for their own freedom, though the colonists do have their reasons for not giving slaves their freedom. In this way slavery played the role as the thing that no politician wanted to address because of the financial gain that came from