The American Revolution: Freedom for the White Man

The American Revolution was a glorious war fought to free the

American colonies from the British rule. Although we won that war,

there were still many people who were not free from our rule. One group of

people were the black slaves. The black people had many

struggles to freedom which helped shape our American culture today.

Three different periods characterized there struggles: the slaves before

the Civil War, during Reconstruction, and during the civil rights

movements. These three eras mark a pivotal point in the movement and

advancement of the black race to social equality.

During the time before the Civil War, it was not easy for slaves to

organize and rebel against their slaveholders or whites in general.

There were numerous laws that specifically took away slaves rights as

men. Slaves also feared the whip and even death if they were to act out

against their owners. The Declaration of Independence did not apply to

many groups and the black race was one of those excluded groups. "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"(Primus

295). Thomas Jefferson, having slaves himself, recognized the fact that

he could not free the slaves himself in that document. It was difficult

enough for him to get the Declaration approved by all of the colonies in

itself. In fact the last man to sign the Declaration of Independence

did not do so until the year 1778. The slaves were kept in ignorance of

any knowledge which might have led to their freedom. Laws forbade

reading and writing for slaves. They also forbade anyone to teach a

slave to read. To keep the slaves obedient, slaveholders often made an

example of a slave by beating him with the cow skin, or even killing

him. "He[Gore] gave Denby but few stripes; the latter broke away from

him and plunged into the creek, and, standing there to the depth of his

neck in water, he refused to come out at the order of the overseer;

whereupon, for this refusal, Gore shot him dead!"(My Bondage and My

Freedom 122). This era was definitely a period were the black people

had little voice in their future and society.

Most people in the north felt differently however. These people

were called the abolitionists, and they were dedicated to freeing the

slaves. The southern states, strongly disagreed with their views and