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Black Americans in the Revolutionary Era a Brief History with Documents

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Black Americans in the Revolutionary Era a Brief History with Documents Black Americans in the Revolutionary Era A Brief History with Documents Woody Holton University of Richmond Foreword v Preface vii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS XV PART ONE Introduction: African American Freedom and American Independence 1 Black American Life on the Eve of White Independence 2 Black Americans and the Coming of the American Revolution 4 Black Americans in Military Service 10 Freedom, Slavery, and the Revolutionary Aftermath 16 PART TWO The Documents 23 1. Black Americans and the Coming of the American Revolution, 1750-1776 25 1. Fugitive Slave Advertisements, 1750-1776 25 Boston Gazette, October 2,1750 , 26 Purdie and Dixon's Virginia Gazette, July 21,1774 26 Pinkney's Virginia Gazette, January 6,1776 27 Pennsylvania Gazette, August 7,1776 28 XI XU CONTENTS 2. Briton Hammon, A Narrative of the Uncommon Sufferings, And Surprizing Deliverance of Briton Hammon, A Negro Man, 1760 28 3. James Otis, The Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved, 1764 35 4. Landon Carter, Plantation Diary, March 22,1770 36 5. Anthony Benezet, Some Historical Account of Guinea... with an Inquiry into the Rise and Progress of the Slave Trade, Its Nature and Lamentable Effects, 1771 38 6. Felix, Petition to Governor, Council, and House of Representatives of Massachusetts, January 6,1773 42 7. Patrick Henry, Letter to Robert Pleasants, January 18,1773 • 44 8. Peter Bestes and Other Massachusetts Slaves, Letter to Local Representatives, April 20,1773 46 9. Phillis Wheatley, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, 1773 48 On the Death of the Rev. Mr. George Whitefield, 1770 48 On Being Brought from Africa to America, 1773 50 10. Phillis Wheatley, Letter to Samson Occom, February 11,1774 50 11. Andrew Estave, Letter in Pinkney's Virginia Gazette, July 20,1775 52 12. John Murray, Lord Dunmore, A Proclamation, November 7,1775 53 13. Thomas Jefferson, Original Rough Draft of the Declaration of Independence, June 1776 55 2. Black Americans in Military Service, 1775-1783 57 14. A Letter from Monmouth County, June 21,1780 58 15. Sergeant Murphy Steele, Deposition Reporting a Supernatural Encounter, August 16,1781 „ 59 16. John Trumbull, The Death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker's Hill (Detail), 1786 60 17. Saul, Petition to the Virginia State Legislature, with Endorsement, October 9,1792 62 CONTENTS XU1 18. Jacob Francis, Pension Application, 1836 63 19. Jehu Grant, Pension Application, with Corroborating Letter, 1836 68 3. Freedom, Slavery, and the Revolutionary Aftermath, 1775-1800 71 20. Nero Brewster and Other New Hampshire Slaves, Petition to the New Hampshire Legislature, November 12,1779 72 21. John Cuffe and Other Free Blacks from Dartmouth, Petition to the Massachusetts Legislature, February 10,1780 75 22. William Cushing, Charge to the Jury in the Case of Quok Walker, 1783 78 23. Susan Sedgwick, Elizabeth Freeman, 1811 79 24. John Marrant, A Narrative of the Lord's Wonderful Dealings with John Marrant, a Black, July 18,1785 81 25. Citizens of Halifax County, Petition to the Virginia General Assembly, November 10,1785 90 26. Prince Hall and Other Free Blacks, Petition to the Massachusetts Legislature, January 4,1787 93 27. Absalom Jones, Richard Allen, and Others, Charter of the Free African Society, April 12,1787 95 28. Raphaelle Peale, Absalom Jones, 1810 97 29. Rose Fortune, 1780s? 99 30. Captain William Booth, A Black Wood Cutter at Shelburne, Nova Scotia, 1788 101 31. Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, 1788 103 32. Benjamin Banneker and Thomas Jefferson, Letters, August 19 and 30,1791 108 33. David George, An Account of the Life of Mr. David George from Sierra Leone, Africa, Given by Himself, 1793 112 34. Boston King, Memoirs of the Life of Boston King, A Black Preacher, Written by Himself, July 4,1796 119 35. Jacob Nicholson and Other Former Slaves from North Carolina, Petition to Congress, January 23,1797 127 XIV CONTENTS 36. Prosser's Ben and Other Slaves, Testimony against Gabriel, October 6,1800 131 37. Paul Cuffee, Memoir of Captain Paul Cuffee, October 1811 133 38. William C. Nell, The Colored Patriots of the American Revolution, 1855 136 APPENDIXES A Chronology of Black Americans in the Revolutionary Era 141 Questions for Consideration 144 Selected Bibliography 146 Index 149.
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