1. September 17, 2019
University High APUSH

2. Slavery in the Revolutionary Era
APUSH Time Period 3

3. Opening Questions (on separate page)
How would you expect the ideals being described in American Revolution to impact the institution of slavery? Why do you believe that effect would have occurred?

4. Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation
November 1775
Lord Dunmore, royal governor of Virginia
Officially declared martial law in Virginia
Promised postwar freedom for slaves of rebelling colonists in exchange for serving in the British military for the duration of the war.
During the war more than 80,000 slaves escaped to join the British military

5. 1777 Slave Petition and Virginia Gazette document
With a partner, share your responses to the questions regarding the slave petition of and the editorial from the Virginia Gazette
On a separate sheet of paper compare/contrast the 1775 text from the Virginia Gazette and this text:
Three differences
One similarity

6. Slavery and the Revolution
In 1776, 20% of U.S., about 500,000 people, were slaves.
By the Revolution, slavery was entrenched in every American colony.
Nearly every founding father owned slaves at some point
Jefferson had more than 100 in 1776
Some patriots argued that slavery for blacks allowed freedom for whites,
Giving white men economic independence.
“Protection of Property”
For African-Americans, the Revolution’s ideals and the war presented an opportunity for freedom. In 1776, one-fifth of the new nation’s inhabitants, about 500,000 people, were slaves. Slavery was central to the language of the Revolution. Other than “liberty,” it was the word most often used in this era’s legal and political writings. Slavery, often defined as the opposite of liberty, was primarily political in its meaning, and signified the denial of an individual’s personal and political rights by arbitrary government. Even slaveowners resisting or fighting the British expressed that they were “enslaved” by their enemies.
By the Revolution, slavery was entrenched in every American colony. Nearly every founding father, North and South, owned slaves at some point. When writing of man’s unalienable right to liberty in the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson owned more than 100 slaves, all of whom made possible his pursuit of leisure and arts and sciences. Some patriots argued that slavery for blacks allowed freedom for whites, by removing the dependent poor from the political nation and giving white men economic independence. John Locke’s vision of the political community as a group of individuals who contracted together to protect their natural rights was also used to defend slavery. The rights of self-government and the protection of property from government interference, some argued, prevented the government from interfering with their human property. Government intervention with their slave property, these whites complained, would make slaves of them.

7. Abolition Notice
A 1775 notice in The Massachusetts Spy reporting a resolution of the Committees of Correspondence of Worcester County that advocated the abolition of slavery.
Give Me Liberty!: An American History, 4th Edition
Copyright © 2011 W.W. Norton & Company

8. Slavery and the Revolution: Emancipation
5,000 slaves fought for American independence (some gained their freedom)
Nearly 100,000 slaves escaped and fled to British lines
Many in Georgia and South Carolina
At war’s end, nearly 20,000 former slaves faced being returned to their owners
Many emigrated to England or other British colonies.
During the war, most states banned or discouraged the further importation of African slaves
In the 1780s, a significant number of slaveholders, especially in Virginia and Maryland, emancipated their slaves
Although 5,000 slaves fought for American independence, by which some gained their freedom, many more slaves obtained their liberty by siding with the British. Several proclamations by British generals offered freedom to slaves who enlisted in the British military. Nearly 100,000 slaves, including many in Georgia and South Carolina, escaped and fled to British lines. Although by the end of the war many had been recaptured, nearly 20,000 former slaves faced being returned to their owners, like George Washington, who insisted that they rejoin their owners. But the British refused, and many emigrated to England or other British colonies.
The Revolution momentarily seemed to threaten the perpetuation of slavery. During the war, most states banned or discouraged the further importation of African slaves, and the conflict devastated many southern plantations. In the 1780s, a significant number of slaveholders, especially in Virginia and Maryland, emancipated their slaves. This happened only very rarely in the other southern states.

9. Abolition in the North/Free Black Communities
Between 1777 and 1804, every northern state moved toward emancipation.
Most northern laws allowed for gradual emancipation.
Living slaves were not freed; only the children of slave mothers would become free after serving the master until adulthood, to compensate for the loss of property.
Large, free black communities exist for the first time in American history.
Own churches, schools, etc.
In almost all states, free black men who met taxpaying or property requirements could vote.
Slavery survived the war and thrived in its aftermath.
1776=500,000 slaves1790=700,000 slaves