AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR

In the years after the Revolutionary War, the cities of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Boston, Massachusetts saw a dramatic increase in the social entrepreneurship of African- Americans. The prevalent disenfranchisement of African-Americans in the era of the early Republic, the signing of the Declaration of Independence while most Blacks were enslaved and denied their basic right to life, liberty, and their pursuit of happiness, created an American society filled with discrimination and injustice. In the midst of hypocrisy, Black men rose to the occasion and founded organizations that provided Blacks with a sense of identity, comfort, and support.

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“Undistinguished Destruction”: The Effects of Smallpox on British Emancipation Policy in the Revolutionary War

Journal of American Studies ◽

10.1017/s0021875816001353 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 51 (3) ◽

pp. 865-885 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

GARY SELLICK

Keyword(s):

Eighteenth Century ◽

South Carolina ◽

African Americans ◽

Primary Source ◽

Revolutionary War ◽

Source Material ◽

American Continent ◽

British Military ◽

Runaway Slaves ◽

The Impact

In 1775, Lord Dunmore, the royal governor of Virginia, offered freedom to any African American who fought for the British cause against the colonial rebels in his province. Dunmore's plan to reconquer Virginia with his “Ethiopian Regiment” ended in failure, not due to a lack of willing volunteers but because of a familiar eighteenth-century killer: smallpox. Five years later, similar proclamations were issued in South Carolina. Yet smallpox again hindered British designs, devastating the eager African Americans who flooded to their lines. This paper uses primary source material and research on smallpox to analyze the experiences of African Americans who actively sought freedom with the British during the Revolutionary War. Focussing on the differing regions of Virginia and South Carolina this paper will assess the impact of smallpox on British military designs for runaway slaves while also evaluating the reasons why the disease had such a devastating effect on African Americans during the period. Overall, this paper will show how smallpox, so common in eighteenth-century Europe, put a fatal end to the first widespread push for emancipation on the American continent and helped derail one of Britain's best hopes for turning the tide in the Revolutionary War.

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