Review of "Black Americans in the Revolutionary Era: A Brief History with Documents," by Woody Holton

 Review of

Black Americans in the Revolutionary Era: A Brief History with Documents, by Woody Holton, ISBN 9780312413590

Five out of five stars

One fact makes the book worth reading.

 The supposed ideals articulated in the American Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Of course, when the word “men” is used in this context, it meant white men. At the time, most blacks in the United States were enslaved and that small percentage that were free were given limited opportunities.

 This book is worth reading for one basic reason, it makes clear one major fact that is almost totally overlooked in discussions about the root causes of the American uprising against the British crown. That fact is introduced in the Declaration of Independence itself, in the clause that begins with, “He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, …” This refers to the British officials collaborating with the enslaved blacks and was stoked on one of the greatest fears among southern whites, an insurrection by the enslaved population.

 After the initial shots were fired in the revolutionary hotbed of Massachusetts, there was a great deal of mixed feelings in the south, particularly among the wealthy class. These were the people that had the most to lose if war was to come and most of them simply wanted the situation to roll back to before the raising of taxes. However, one action by loyalist Governor Lord Dunmore drove many of the wealthy slaveholders into the rebel camp. As the initial movements and words of potential action were being performed, Dunmore made a statement that if he or any other British official were to be harmed, he “would declare freedom to the slaves and reduce the city of Wmsburg to ashes.” This single act caused many of the wealthy slaveowners to move from a position of being largely neutral into the Revolutionary camp. This fact is introduced on page 7.

 The war for American independence was a close-run thing, it is very possible that the fear of a British inspired slave insurrection drove enough people into opposition to tilt the balance in favor of independence. This is a critical historical point that should be given much more coverage.

 The balance of the book contains many personal accounts of blacks that were emancipated during the war and how they managed to achieve their freedom. There are also accounts of how even those that took up arms in favor of freedom were given little of it once the war ended.

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