20. The American Revolution From the Perspective of America’s Slaves
In 1775, Samuel Johnson summed up one of the greatest contradictions of the American Colonists’ fight for freedom: “How is it that we hear the loudest yelps for liberty from the drivers of Negros?” The American Revolution brought hope to America’s slaves, as the Patriots’ talk of “Liberty” and “Equality” ignited their dreams. However, as they discovered, even the greatest champions of freedom were hesitant to extend it to blacks. By contrast, the British did not hesitate to offer freedom to slaves who fled their rebel masters and sided with the British.
Given that context, it is unsurprising that many blacks became Loyalists, and preferred the British who offered them freedom to the Patriots who did not. Today, the struggle between Britain and the American colonists is usually presented as a fight for liberty between tyranny and a people yearning for freedom. However, from the perspective of many Colonists of African descent, it was not so straightforward, and the side that offered them freedom from tyranny was that of the British, not the Colonists.
