Early Black Nationalism

Stuckey finds that many "free" and slave blacks became dedicated to the idea of liberation with the American Revolution and the Haitian Revolt, leading many to desire unity in their ranks and control over their own destinies as well as independence from an oppressive and racist society. This coincided with the development of the United States after the Revolution:

It was obvious to black leaders that their people were not meaningfully included in the new nation, particularly since the great majority of them were still slaves (Stuckey 3).

There is evidence that a sense of black nationalism infused the slave population, but clearly it was in the North among "free" blacks where there was an opportunity for them to frame their thoughts into statements calling for a transformation of values and the creation of institutions to move black people from

. . .
ists also wrote about emancipation, including in several black-owned newspapers, such as freedom's Journal or the Weekly Advocate (Franklin and Moss 178-181). Another source of opposition to slavery was found in the church, and the black Christian churches did what they could to promote emancipation and the abolitionist cause. Religion developed so it formed the center of the world the slaves made for themselves. Parish cites Eugene Genovese to the effect that Christianity was a double-edged sword which could sanction either accommodation or justify resistance to slavery: In the everyday routine of plantation life, it brought spiritual comfort and relief to the individual slave and sustaining power to the slave community. An emotional brand of Christianity, spiced with elements of the African religious legacy, developed into a distinctive African-American religion (Parish 81-82). Researchers believe that slave religion inspired a powerful sense of community and offered leaders and spokespersons for that community, and it also helped to provide alterative standards and alternative possibilities in terms of relations between slaves. The influence of religion was likely different on large plantations as opposed to smaller farms.
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Approximate Word count = 1809
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)

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