African Americans in the American Revolutionary War: This 5-page paper discusses the participation of Black Americans in the Revolutionary War. There is a bibliography.
Note to the student: On your reference page, complete the publication information for the book, including correct full names of all the authors (the fax ed cover was a little too dark to read), publisher, city and date.
African Americans in the American Revolutionary War
Beginning with the death of Crispus Attucks, the first person to die in the Revolutionary War in the Boston Massacre, blacks gave their lives, fighting for the freedom we enjoy today (Gresham, 1). According to historians, over 5,000 black men were involved in the battle for independence, men who are more or less ignored in the graveyard of forgotten history (Schneider, 19). It is the thesis of this paper that during the Revolutionary War, African Americans fought courageously, with the belief that they would be freed, only to be cheated out of their freedom by the very country they fought for.
The black participation in the Revolutionary War is an often-neglected aspect of the history of the Revolution. The African Americans of the 1770's understood the thinking behind the revolutionary movement. They were influenced by the Great Awakening humanitarian movement, laced with Christian thought, and believed the discourse of freedom as a right (Hine et al, 73). Many used the war to gain their freedom through a variety of meansùby fighting with the Patriots, by fighting for the Loyalists in exchange for their freedom, or simply escaping from their masters during the chaos of the time (Hine et al, 73).
In 1770, a black sailor named Crispus Attucks, took the lead in facing the British soldiers in Boston. A throng of angry colonists closed in the British soldiers. Five died in what is known as the Boston Massacre, the beginning of the war for independence, and the six-foot tall, 47-year...