African Americans In The Revolutionary War
Some African Americans saw the Revolution as a fight for justice, but their own liberty and freedom from slavery. Others responded to the Dunmore's Proclamation, and fought for their freedom as Black Loyalists. Benjamin Quarles believed that the role of the African American in the American Revolution can be understood by "realizing that loyalty was not to a place or a person, but to a principle". Regardless of where the loyalties of the African American lay, they made a contribution to the birth of the United States that is often disregarded. During the American Revolutionary War, African Americans served both the Continental Army and the British Army. It is estimated that 5,000 African Americans served as soldiers for the Continental army, while more than 20,000 fought for the British cause. However, there is no documentary evidence that 5,000 African Americans fought in the Continental Army; indeed, that number has been found from the New England states alone. Estimates are difficult because most existing pension and service files do not mention race.
Read more about African Americans In The Revolutionary War: Free African Americans, Motivating Factor, African American Patriots, African American Sailors, Patriot Resistance To Using African Americans, Lord Dunmore's Proclamation, Military Response To Dunmore's Proclamation, African American Loyalists, Black Regiment of Rhode Island, Aftermath of The War For African Americans, African American Women
Other articles related to "african americans in the revolutionary war, americans":
... Black women, many of whom were slaves, served both the Americans and the British in the capacity of nurses, laundresses and cooks ...
Famous quotes containing the words african americans, war, americans and/or african:
“The confirmation of Clarence Thomas, one of the most conservative voices to be added to the [Supreme] Court in recent memory, carries a sobering message for the African- American community.... As he begins to make his mark upon the lives of African Americans, we must acknowledge that his successful nomination is due in no small measure to the support he received from black Americans.”
—Kimberly Crenshaw (b. 1959)
“... it is a commonplace that men like war. For peace, in our society, with the feeling we have then that it is feeble-minded to strive except for one’s own private profit, is a lonely thing and a hazardous business. Over and over men have proved that they prefer the hazards of war with all its suffering. It has its compensations.”
—Ruth Benedict (1887–1948)
“In the two centuries that have passed since 1776, millions upon millions of Americans have worked and taken up arms, when necessary, to make [the American] dream a reality. We can be proud of what they have accomplished. Today, we are the world’s oldest republic. We are at peace. Our nation and our way of life endure. And we are free.”
—Gerald R. Ford (b. 1913)
“Kitsch ... is one of the major categories of the modern object. Knick-knacks, rustic odds-and-ends, souvenirs, lampshades, and African masks: the kitsch-object is collectively this whole plethora of “trashy,” sham or faked objects, this whole museum of junk which proliferates everywhere.... Kitsch is the equivalent to the “cliché” in discourse.”
—Jean Baudrillard (b. 1929)