Prior To The War
Slavery in England had never been authorized by statute. It was made illegal at common law by a decision of Lord Mansfield, Chief Justice of the King's Bench, in 1772, but this decision did not apply in the colonies. A number of cases for emancipation were presented to the English courts. Numerous runaways hoped to reach England where they hoped to be free.
The slaves' belief that King George III was for them and against their masters rose as tensions increased before the American Revolution; colonial slaveholders feared a British-inspired slave revolt. In early 1775 Lord Dunmore wrote to Lord Dartmouth of his intent to take advantage of this situation.
Read more about this topic: Black Loyalist
Famous quotes containing the words prior to the, prior to, prior and/or war:
“Prior to the meeting, there was a prayer. In general, in the United States there was always praying.”
—Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1921–1990)
“The logic of the world is prior to all truth and falsehood.”
—Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951)
“And Venus to the Loves around
Remarked how ill we all dissembled.”
—Matthew Prior (1664–1721)
“I have agreed to go into the service for the war ... [feeling] that this was a just and necessary war and that it demanded the whole power of the country; that I would prefer to go into it if I knew I was to die or be killed in the course of it, than to live through and after it without taking any part in it.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)