Slavery and the American Revolution
TiAnna Porter
HIST 2010
Josué Rey
6 March 2013
A Slave Owner’s Cry for Freedom In the years from 1600 to 1783 the thirteen colonies in North America were introduced to slavery and underwent the American Revolutionary War. Colonization of the New World by Europeans during the seventeenth century resulted in a great expansion of slavery, which later became the most common form of labor in the colonies. According to Peter Kolchin, modern Western slavery was a product of European expansion and was predominantly a system of labor. Even with the introduction of slavery to the New World, life still wasn’t as smooth as we may presume. Although the early American colonists found it perfectly fine to enslave an entire race of people, they found themselves being controlled in every facet of life by the British Empire. After the French and Indian War in 1765, the American Colonists began to notice that ironically enough they were, in some form, enslaved by Great Britain. From being unrightfully taxed, i.e. The Stamp Act, to being denied entry into the military ranks of Britain, the American colonists soon figured out that they were not as free as they once thought. Boycotts, protests, and riots, including events such as The Boston Tea Party and The Boston Massacre painted the landscape of rebellion in the early colonies which led to the era in American History known as The American Revolution. The institution of slavery and the ideology of the American Revolution intersect in that the thirteen colonies struggled with Great Britain for their independence even though the colonists were neglecting the independence and equalities of the African slaves. The ideals I interpret throughout this essay were drawn from reading the following primary documents: “The Boston Massacre”, “Parliament Debates the Stamp Act, 1765”, “Colonists Respond to the Stamp Act, 1765-66”, “An Enslaved African-American in the Revolutionary Army, 1777-1783”, “African-American Fights for the Loyalist in
HIST 2010
Josué Rey
6 March 2013
A Slave Owner’s Cry for Freedom In the years from 1600 to 1783 the thirteen colonies in North America were introduced to slavery and underwent the American Revolutionary War. Colonization of the New World by Europeans during the seventeenth century resulted in a great expansion of slavery, which later became the most common form of labor in the colonies. According to Peter Kolchin, modern Western slavery was a product of European expansion and was predominantly a system of labor. Even with the introduction of slavery to the New World, life still wasn’t as smooth as we may presume. Although the early American colonists found it perfectly fine to enslave an entire race of people, they found themselves being controlled in every facet of life by the British Empire. After the French and Indian War in 1765, the American Colonists began to notice that ironically enough they were, in some form, enslaved by Great Britain. From being unrightfully taxed, i.e. The Stamp Act, to being denied entry into the military ranks of Britain, the American colonists soon figured out that they were not as free as they once thought. Boycotts, protests, and riots, including events such as The Boston Tea Party and The Boston Massacre painted the landscape of rebellion in the early colonies which led to the era in American History known as The American Revolution. The institution of slavery and the ideology of the American Revolution intersect in that the thirteen colonies struggled with Great Britain for their independence even though the colonists were neglecting the independence and equalities of the African slaves. The ideals I interpret throughout this essay were drawn from reading the following primary documents: “The Boston Massacre”, “Parliament Debates the Stamp Act, 1765”, “Colonists Respond to the Stamp Act, 1765-66”, “An Enslaved African-American in the Revolutionary Army, 1777-1783”, “African-American Fights for the Loyalist in
Cited: “Boyrereau Brinch.” National Humanities Center. (1777-1783): n. page. Print. Butler, Jon. Becoming America. Cambridge. Harvard University Press, 2000. Print “Colonists Respond to the Stamp Act, 1765-1766” National Humanities Center. (1765-1766): n. page. Print. Hewes, George. "Boston Tea Party." Digital History. (1773): n. page. Web. 15 Mar. 2013. <http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=3&psid=1192>. Hinschelwood, Archibald. “The Stamp Act Crisis.” Digital History. (1765): n. Web. 15 Mar. 2013. <http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=3&psid=115>. King, Boston. “Memoirs of the Life of Boston King, A Black Preacher,” The Methodist Magazine 21. (1798): 106–10, 21. Web Kolchin, Peter. American Slavery 1619-1877. New York: Hill and Wang, 2003. Print. “Parliament Debates the Stamp Act, February 1765.” New York Public Library. (1765): n. page. Print. Tudor, Deacon. "The Boston Massacre." Digital History. (1770): n. page. Web. 15 Mar. 2013. <http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=3&psid=114>. "Virginia Slave Laws." Digital History. (1662): n. page. Print. <http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook_print.cfm?smtid=3&psid=71>.