Preview

Gary Nash's Motives Of The American Revolution

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
212 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Gary Nash's Motives Of The American Revolution
In the American Revolution, gaining freedom was the strongest motive for black slaves who joined the Patriot or British armies. The free black may have been drafted or enlisted at his own volition—Nash says they enlisted at higher rates than did whites.[1]

Additional motives for those who joined the rebel American forces could have been a desire for adventure, belief in the goals of the Revolution and the possibility of receiving a bounty. Bounties were monetary payments also the chance to be given freedom; they were promised to those who joined ether side. Free blacks in the North and South fought on both sides of the Revolution; slaves were recruited to weaken those masters who supported the opposing cause. Gary Nash reports that most blacks

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The leadership of the army knew this would be the case, which is the main reason that the terms of enlistment were so short during the war unlike the minimal 8 years contract in the army now. Although the life in the army improved the soldiers had to endure such environment as, “shivering with cold upon bare floors without a blanket to cover them, calling for fire, for water, for suitable food, and for medicines- calling in vain.” Having to withstand all these misfortune, the soldiers were anything but humble in their conception of rights. The soldiers warned the generals of desertion if they were not properly taken care of, so the “severest Punishment” was placed to counter threat the soldiers. However, this did not last as “even in Washington’s handpicked Life Guard, eight soldiers deserted during the war.” As the war dragged out, eventually, Washington reopened the Continental army to free blacks with congressional approval. Slaves were still forbidden, yet five hundred free black men served in the war. It started with Massachusetts than to Rhode Island. Even with the blacks joining, Mother Nature did not see lightly of them, “By early 1778, the regiments were close to disintegration, their pay in arrears,…

    • 436 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Maya Jasanoff review

    • 631 Words
    • 2 Pages

    However, not everyone who remained loyal to England got what was promised to them. Jasanoff gives accounts of loyalists who received help from the British government, and those who were not as fortunate. The British promised freedom to black slaves willing to fight in the King’s army. After the war, some made it to Canada to live out…

    • 631 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    1982 DBQ

    • 479 Words
    • 1 Page

    eventually became reason for slaves to fight for freedom. John Brown, though his raid on…

    • 479 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    During the American Revolution many strategies and tactics were used by the colonist. Specifically, the colonist used guerilla warfare, they had geographic advantages, and the colonist were a popular support. In general, those reasons are why the patriots won the war, but the main strategy for winning the American Revolution is the tactic of foreign relations.…

    • 373 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Patrick Henry was born in May of 1736 in Hanover County, Virginia. He served in the Virginia House of Burguesses and wrote persuasive speeches that opened the eyes of the colonists and make them see that they were being enslaved. Patrick Henry was the seed of motivation, and the driving force that the colonist needed in order to be free and stand up for what they think its fair. He was important to the revolutionary war efforts because, he encourage people to fight for their rights and not give up.…

    • 104 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Black ideas about Britain as a source of freedom: African Americans all over the colonies began to associate England with freedom in 1775 when Lord Dunmore threatened to arm slaves to ward off attacks by colonists. Soon afterward, Dunmore issued an official proclamation promising freedom to defecting able-bodied slaves who would fight for the British. By December 1775, around 1,500 slaves in Virginia had fled to Lord Dunmore, who armed them and called them his “Ethiopian Regiment.” Camp disease quickly set in: dysentery, typhoid fever, and worst of all, smallpox. When Dunmore sailed for England in mid-1776, he took only 300 black survivors with him. But the association of freedom with the British authorities had been established, and throughout the war,…

    • 421 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Slaves reacted in different ways when they were given their freedom. Some of the slaves who still felt that they should be loyal to their masters resisted the Union Armies who came to free them. Other slaves…

    • 1188 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The term revolutionary means something that has or had a significant effect or sudden impact on the society and human behaviour. After and during the revolutionary war if a citizen was rich, white and a man he would have benefited from the revolutionary war, such as being able to enlist in the army willingly. However, if a citizen did not fall into that category they would have gained very little from the war. Contrary to G. Wood’s idea in the Radicalism of the American Revolution that patriots carried along and enforced the “Spirit of Equality” throughout the war (Document B), there was no equality shown to people of color, middle to lower class citizens and women. The revolutionary war did not make the lives of these individuals better in terms of race, class and gender. While the United States as a country was emancipated from Great Britain, the United States as a society was not…

    • 983 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    How Did Nat Turner Rebel

    • 773 Words
    • 4 Pages

    One of the most pernicious allegations made against the African-American people was that our slave ancestors were either exceptionally docile, content, or loyal, thus, explaining their purposed to failure to rebel extensively. One example is Nat Turner, he became a preacher who claimed he had been chosen by God to lead a slave from bondage. On August 21, 1831, he led a violent insurrection. he made a troop of slaves that held, at least for six weeks. His rebellion left approximately 55-65 but Nat Turner failed to end slavery and he was eventually caught and later hanged. Although he inspired to the rest of Africans Americans to have the same vision as Nat Turner to fight for their freedom, values, and natural rights of a human. Black slaves were demanded by the whites and looked for young blacks of both sexes from 12 to 25. Additionally, Nathaniel was sold 3 times in his…

    • 773 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Before the American Revolution occurred, the colonies had experienced a laissez-faire style of government imposed by the British. The British believed in the policy of salutary neglect, which refers to the policy of avoiding strict enforcement of laws meant to keep American colonies obedient to England. The American Revolution occurred due to mercantilist policies imposed by the British due to an effort to lower the tremendous amount of debt after the French and Indian War (1754-1763). The British imposed new taxes such as the Stamp Act (1765) which was a tax on printed items. The Americans then began the slogan “No taxation without representation” which became the cry of the American Revolution. Although men took the front-lines of the battlefield,…

    • 959 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Freedom is the right to do whatever you want. Slavery is being enslaved under one’s ownership. Which one is better to live under? The thirteen colonies are currently in a Revolutionary War with Britain and re-enlistment has come up. Re-enlistment means I have to make a decision, do I want re-enlist or not? I have decided to re-enlist because I want freedom, the army needs as much help as possible, and the fight isn’t lost, plus there is really no reason to not re-enlist. Some others people aren’t re-enlisting, though. The others wanted to know why, so I will explain.…

    • 1161 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    For many African Americans, the war offered an opportunity to get out of the cycle of crushing rural poverty. Black joined the military in large numbers, escaping a decade of Depression and tenant farming in the South and Midwest. Yet, like the rest of America in the 1940s, the armed forces were segregated. The Army accepted black enlistees but created separate black infantry regiments and assigned white commanders to them. Of the more than 2.5 million African Americans who registered for the draft in WWII, about 900,000 served in the Army. But about only 50,000 African Americans were allowed to serve in combat.…

    • 984 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    During the American Revolution in the 1770s, African Americans soldiers participated in valor. Some were fighting for the Britain colonialists while others were fighting for American patriots in their struggle for independence. The slaves fought alongside their masters so that they could get human rights and freedoms enjoyed by other Americans. During this time, slavery was at peak, and most African Americans were under servitude and gross abuse of their rights (Matthews 369). Slaves imported from Africa and other parts of the world were sold to slave masters especially in the North. When the revolutionary war ended, most soldiers who participated in the war for both sides won their freedom. There is a rich history on the role of slaves in the…

    • 1620 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay Revolutionary War

    • 430 Words
    • 2 Pages

    George Washington helped us in many ways in the revolutionary war. Despite his losses he knew how to run the military. He was a really tough and brave man. Those two characteristics helped us in the military because you have to be brave and take risks t get rewards. Lastly toughness helped us out a lot. When our solders are sick or don't feel good they don't get to call in sick. They have to tough it out and if we were not tough enough then our soldiers would have gave up.…

    • 430 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    From the year 1780 through approximately 1815 many people in the United States were at war. While so many people were fighting for their independence the African Americans were fighting for their own freedom and independence from slavery, while being forced to fight for others freedom at the same time. Even the freed African Americans fought long and hard for their loved ones that had fallen victim to slavery. While so many people in the southern states and very few in the north were still for slavery many were hell bent against it.…

    • 834 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays