American Revolution – American History to 1877

February 19, 2014

The Role of Slaves before the American Revolution

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For the first time all semester, it seems that two of our readings differ greatly with one another. Wilentz, as noted in “American History from a Canadian Perspective,” focuses primarily on the struggle of colonists to achieve an established democracy. Wilentz notes that slavery was a concern at constitutional conventions—particularly during discussion of a three-fifths clause—but his analysis stopped there. In contrast, Davis writes his chapter with an emphasis on the role of slaves. He starts with pointing out this contradiction: “though slaves throughout history had yearned for their own liberation…the American rhetoric and ideology of freedom brought a wholly new perspective to blacks whose ears—and whose understanding of contradictions—were at least as sensitive as those of their masters” (Davis 144). Davis also points to historical recounts, including a quote from a historian who argued, “Americans began haphazardly but with detectable acceleration to legislate Negroes into an ever-shrinking corner of the American community” (Davis 145). He also acknowledges the growing petitions from slaves to establish their own liberation.

Interestingly, Davis discusses the then-common dissent of slavery throughout the colonies. However, some colonists saw the inscription of slaves to be fundamental to their “freedom.” Alexander Hamilton wrote, “if we do not make use of them [the slaves] in this way, the enemy probably will…an essential part of the plan is to give them freedom with their muskets” (Davis 148). Davis foreshadows a conflict of the civil war—the argument over slavery—manifesting itself in the days before the American Revolution. He highlights that as soon as 1777, northern colonies were already outlawing slavery. Lastly, he notes, “today we can see that such fears [of African Americans] were based on a profound but unacknowledged racism that made the white fear of black crime and economic dependence almost universal” (Davis 153). Davis concludes by noting, “the very idea of slavery is a fiction or fraud, since liberty and equality are fundamental rights that no one can legitimately lose” (Davis 156).

I appreciate Davis’s discussion of the role of slaves (and slavery) in the colonies. As the aforementioned post highlights, Wilentz portrays the “romantic” version of the build-up to the American Revolution. Davis instead examines the apparent contradiction between colonists’ liberalization and slaves’ entrapment, which is an observation not present enough in contemporary American history.

February 19, 2014

American History from a Canadian Perspective

I found it fascinating to read Wilentz from somewhat of an outsider’s perspective, not being American and having never studied American history or read the American constitution. I have been told repeatedly told by American students at Davidson that I should not be considered an international student because “there’s really no difference better Canada and the US”. Reading Wilentz, the cultural differences and the historical roots of those differences become abundantly clear. Even Wilentz writes, “The Revolution’s democratic impact forever changed the context of American politics and culture and brought ordinary Americans into public and political life, which fundamentally altered how they perceived themselves and others.” Though I share many of the American cultural values including freedom, independence, property rights and class mobility, these values are not tied to my identity as a Canadian, but my identity as human being. I think these values are rooted in American identity because they are directly rooted in the events and teaching of American history, in a way that they are not in Canada – we got our independence in 1867, the last province joined in 1949 and we didn’t have a national flag specified by statue law until 1965.

Of all the texts we have read this semester, the first chapter of The Rise of American Democracy by Sean Wilentz comes closest to what I think of as how American (and North American) history is traditionally told. Each page is peppered with the names of white men in prominent economic or political positions. (I also wonder if this is how American history is told because of the US culture often values individual identity, representation of every individual and the possibility of upward mobility for everyone) Even when the chapter discusses class differences, the discussion is limited to a comparison between the lifestyles and beliefs of urban and rural dwellers. At the end of the chapter, Wilentz does briefly discusses slavery in the context of the Philadelphia convention and summarizes the results as “the final draft avoided explicitly mentioning slavery […] But delegates effective barred the government from taking any action against slavery in the states”. But, Wilentz does not discuss the impact of these events, nor does he mention anywhere the efforts by slaves of free Blacks to fight for and promote democratic values. By contrast, David Brion Davis focuses exclusively slaves and free blacks in this time period in chapter seven of Inhuman Bondage. He details attitude towards slavery and changes to slave ideals of freedom, as well as chronicling the roles slaves played in revolutionary effects and the misgiving of many whites to involve slaves. Davis provides a parallel history that fills in many of the gaps in Wilnetz chronicle. Olivia provides a really valuable analysis of in her blog post “The Revolutionary War as a Precursor to the Civil War?” of Davis and the role of slavery in both the Revolutionary and Civil wars, demonstrating the value of analyzing history from multiple perspectives.

Still, these chapters were the only historical texts you had read on American history, you would never know that there were Native peoples living in North America. Admittedly, we have moved forward on the timeline from European arrival an early interactions and I don’t mean to imply that Wilentz or Davis are responsible for telling those parts of American history, however having read Taylor with his attention to marginalized populations, I am left wondering in what ways Native people were directly or indirectly involved in shaping the new American state.

Davis, David Brion. Inhuman Bondage. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.
Wilentz, Sean. The Rise of American Democracy. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2005.
*Olivia Rosen, “The Revolutionary War as a Precursor to the Civil War, http://sites.davidson.edu/his141sp2014/the-revolutionary-war-as-a-precursor-to-the-civil-war/

February 17, 2014

A Shift in the Colonies

In this chapter, Taylor describes the conflicts and wars that take over North America during the early 1700s, and how these wars shaped the colonies into pre-Revolutionary War America. Taylor does not focus much on the actual battles of the Seven Years War, but instead focuses on the social, political, and economic consequences and outcomes started by the war.

Due to these conflicts between the British and the French, relations with Native Americans shift in North America. British colonies were rapidly growing, as Taylor points out in 1754 there were over one million British colonists compared to the seventy thousand French colonists (426). This shift in size caused the French to value its relationship with Native Americans, as they were a vital contributor to victory in war. Although Indians wanted to play both the British and the French to maximize utility and to seek the lowest prices, the French were much more cordial and appreciative than the growing British. While British and Native American relations have never been stable, this war exacerbated the situation by making French and Indian relations stronger. The only redeeming factor the British had, Taylor points out, were their plentiful goods at lower prices (428). Despite the Natives favoring the appreciative French over the British, we can see that the British are becoming a powerhouse in North America.

The most interesting outcome the Seven Years War was the changes in the relationship between the colonies and Britain. As the colonies grew and expanded both on the land and by numbers, the British monarchy decided to reign in the leaders of the colonies and place more restrictions and taxes on the colonists. Taylor points out that the victory in the Seven Years War led the British to rethink its empire and change it to the country’s benefit, but also gave the colonists a sense of entitlement and power because they were the ones to fight in and win the war. The conflicting attitudes led to colonist’s revolting and the Revolutionary War.

In his blog post titled “Colonial Origins of the American Dream,” Max discusses this change in colonist’s mind-set towards their homeland led to the beginning of the American Dream. The American Dream, known to many as an American’s ability to work hard to achieve goals, is often thought of being an American idea after the Revolutionary War when Americans were independent from the British. The resistant attitude and their willingness to fight the homeland to achieve the end goal of freedom show that the colonists were already starting to work towards this American Dream.

This time in pre-Revolutionary War America proved to be a defining period in American history. British colonies changed as they fought against the French in the Seven Years War, started to alienate Native Americans, and developed a defiant attitude towards Britain. Taylor portrays these changing events and feelings well through this chapter on imperial wars.

February 16, 2014

War in the Colonies

In chapter 18, Taylor explores the different relationships and conflicts that occurred in the colonies throughout the early to mid 1700’s. He makes a clear outline of the different groups and coalitions that existed in the new world, including the French, Spanish, English and Indians. In his outline, he expresses the various wants and needs that the different groups seek, and how the race for control led to overall conflict. However, the most intriguing argument that Taylor makes his how the conflicts during the colonial period influenced the future quest for colonial independence.

Taylor briefly describes the events and impacts of the Seven Years War between the English and the French and numerous Indian tribes. He explains how the war erupted when Robert Dinwiddie “tried to oust the French from the forks of the Ohio”(428). He further explains how Washington originally suffered an embarrassing defeat outside of Fort Duquesne, and then how he returns to fame after leading a retreat once General Braddock’s unit was ambushed. He closes out his description of the War upon speaking of the Battle for Quebec in open field. Even though he does describe these major events, this war played an extremely vital role int he shaping of the colonial landscape. I thought that Taylor focussed too little on the context of these different situations. For example, when Taylor spoke of William Pitt, he gave almost no background information on his prior experience or role in society. Even though he spoke clearly about his style of leadership, I still do not a firm grasp of where this man came from or what happened to him post war. As Taylor moved through the Seven YEars War quickly while touching on main events, I believe that he left out many important details and I still do not feel as if I have a firm grasp on the specifics of the War.

Taylor does int he end describe the impact that the war had on the colonist. Like my classmate pointed out in “Imperial Wars and Crisis”, the Seven Years War ignited the fire of independence from the colonies. Taylor accurately points out how the colonists saw first hand that they can make a significant difference, and have the power to achieve goals through military force. I do however wish that Taylor would haven spoken about how Britain essentially trained the army that eventually would fight against them in Revolution. But besides from that, Taylor did a very good job of explaining how the different taxes and tariff’s on the colonists in effort to pay off the war debt lead to a revolutionary atmosphere in America.

Although I would have liked Taylor to be more specific about the details of the Seven Years War, he does adequately discuss the different groups involved and their role throughout the conflict. He also does a good job in his description of the post war colonies. Overall this chapter makes good context of the implications these events had on the shaping of America.

February 16, 2014

The American Revolution: An Ironic Conception of “Independence”

In Chapter 18: “Imperial Wars and Crisis, 1739-75,” Taylor outlines the Seven Years War and discusses the ways in which the conflict led to the Revolutionary War. As my specific interest area in history does not pertain to war, I appreciated that the brevity with which Taylor discusses the actual war and its battles. The majority of the chapter provides an in-depth analysis of the global and territorial implications of the war, in addition to an explanation of the colonies’ political, social, and economic climate that incited the American Revolution. Contrary to my high-school history courses, Taylor offers a complex template of the Revolution’s causes. He asserts that the conflict was not simply a disagreement in governance and taxation, but derived from a fundamental difference between Britain and the colonies’ socio-economic structures. This, in turn, facilitated the creation of a collective American mentality that clashed with the British way of life.

Taylor attributes the colonists’ preoccupation with and perception of “independence” as the focal point of divergence in colonial and British ideology. America’s economic structure was unique to Britain, because most white men were able to own land and had the opportunity of social mobility. Even indentured servants eventually gained their freedom, and were provided with a small plot of land as compensation for their years of servitude. As indentured servitude was replaced with enslavement of Africans, white landowners formed a middle-class that was a buffer between wealthy elites and slaves. Conversely, Britain lacked a middle-class. Its social structure was stratified between the very rich and very poor, and left virtually no opportunity for upward mobility. Thus, the concept of independence became synonymous with American society, and colonists resented any infringement on their independence by the British crown and Parliament. In Taylor’s words, “the colonists clung to independence as a precious state in a world where dependence was the norm” (441).

Matt’s blog post, however, recognizes the troubling irony that existed within colonists’ emphasis on independence and their pursuit of sovereignty from Britain—American society depended upon African bondage for survival. While Matt acknowledges the value of the American Revolution in the creation of the United States of America, he makes the important distinction that “it should not be thought of as morally righteous in nature.” Although white colonists were accorded a level of independence that was not as achievable in Britain, their prosperity was reliant upon the oppression of slaves and Natives. Oftentimes history courses glorify the American Revolution as a courageous tale of Americans’ united conquest over an imperial oppressor. This narrative fails to recognize the hypocrisy with which our nation was founded. I do not mean to undermine the Revolutions’ import and do not take for granted the sacrifice of our country’s forefathers that are responsible for my independence and good fortune. Rather, both narratives must be told in efforts to ensure that slavery is not ignored as a minor blemish on American history. Taylor does just this, and consequently, provides an effective and fascinating tale of the precursor to the American Revolution.

Taylor, Alan. American Colonies. New York: Penguin Group, 2001.