![a 3 page essay on the patriot free a 3 page essay on the patriot free](https://ecdn.teacherspayteachers.com/thumbitem/Patriot-or-Loyalist-Common-Core-Lesson-Plan-for-the-American-Revolution-1277022-1641909511/original-1277022-4.jpg)
Most believed that victory by the British would lead to the end of slavery.įears of a slave revolt gripped the South. Their actions during the war were often decided by what they believed would best help them throw off the shackles of slavery. African-Americans fought for both sides, providing manpower to both the British and the revolutionaries. Just as whites were divided by the conflict between the colonies and England, so blacks faced difficult choices. Also in these towns, they may have controlled parts of the local economy, for example, selling almost all the food staples, fish, and fowl (birds). In coastal towns, such as Wilmington and New Bern, they worked in trades that were important to the shipping business. Skilled slaves worked as carpenters, coopers (making barrels), blacksmiths (making iron into tools and shoeing horses), wheelwrights (making and repairing wheels), and in many other skilled occupations. All of their earnings, except perhaps for a small allowance, went to the slaves’ owners. A few of them were “hired out” by their owners to work for others who needed their labor. Those who lived in North Carolina’s few towns worked at trades or were servants to slaveholders. Most blacks, whether slave or free, lived in the countryside and worked the land, planting, harvesting, and preparing crops for market. In actual numbers, blacks totaled perhaps seventy thousand but no more than 5 percent of them were free. Less well known is how African-Americans felt and what they did during the War of Independence.Īt the time of the American Revolution, slaves made up at least 25 percent of the population of North Carolina. The story of how the original thirteen American colonies broke away from Great Britain and formed the United States is well known.
![a 3 page essay on the patriot free a 3 page essay on the patriot free](https://www.shgape.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/TheMenaceCoverImage-scaled.jpg)
Tar Heel Junior Historian Association, NC Museum of History Reprinted with permission from the Tar Heel Junior Historian. African Americans and the Revolution Originally published as "'Liberty to Slaves': The Black Response"