Introduction
The American Africans were entitled to slave since 1619 when the first black slaves were introduced in North America to help with the production of crops such as tobacco. Throughout the American colonies, slavery was practiced, and the black Americans were used to help build the economic foundation of the country. However, after the agricultural decline, the African Americans were seen to have no economic benefit to the farmers. Consequently, they engaged into other economic benefits that shaped the northern economy. For instance, when the geography and climate affected the agricultural activities in the northern colonies, slaves engaged into other activities such as trade, and supply of foodstuffs and meat in the Caribbean colonies (Rael 18). Although the African American community in the north constituted less than ten percentages of the northern states, they were differentiated two groups; enslaved and nominal free groups. However, their views of the African American were determined by their different status as free and enslaved communities, but they all had one voice to fight for humanity and abolition of slavery. Therefore, although the African American had one goal of aching freedom and liberty, it is significant to determine whether their views were varied according to their freedom status and the location of slavery.
First, the American Africans in the pre-1865 era were as one family irrespective of whether they were free or not. They all viewed themselves as slaves and demanded the freedom. However, the free blacks were more active in claiming for the freedom for all black because they were also slaves in disguise. According to Rae (21), although there were free and enslaved black in the north, they remarkably shared culture and economic status. The free blacks were living “tenuous lives undeserving of the adjective ‘free,’ but their legal claim to the liberty was far more solid than that of free blacks in any slavery society” (21). This illustrates that despite the nominal ‘freedom’ to the blacks in the north, they continued to fight for the liberty of the enslaved and so-called free blacks. The free blacks knew that they could be denied their little freedom because the free could believably be legally re-enslaved. Therefore, they viewed that they had to fight the claim the liberty for the enslaved blacks in order to avoid any chances of getting back to slavery. Although the free blacks had gained greater opportunities after their freedom, they had to use a little freedom to fight against the constrained freedom, discrimination and slavery of other blacks in the north and south. The two groups, despite their freedom differences, both had a strong view of liberty. They would be happy to have no auction blocks, Negro-traders, forced separation of man and wife, separation of children and their parents, and horrors of slavery. Although the free black views were restricted by fear of getting back to the slavery, they fought for the freedom and wished everyone would achieve freedom. For instance, Henry Turner was born black in the south but was as happy as the fellow African American when Abraham Lincoln announced the liberty and freedom of the blacks. In his view, he suggests that the proclamation by His Excellency Abraham Lincoln has never been surpassed and thinks that it will be never duplicated again (Schaller et al. 148). This indicates that even the free black were happy by the action of Abraham Lincoln to announce freedom for all slaves.
In terms of location, the view of slave resistance in both north and South American was aided by not only indigenous actions but also the colonial powers. The Americans views that the uprising slavery in Antigua and Jamaica could significantly lead to the collapse of the Caribbean colonial project (Rucker43). However, while some collaborated with the Europeans, other pushed the European colonies out of their lands. In the London province, the blacks were joining the British Military while the anti-slavery thoughts were prevailing in Britain. As result, these actions made the abolition of the slavery inevitable, and African identified the prevailing colonial revolt as a way to fight for the freedom. However, the enslaved people became more rebellious and resistant as the crisis between the south and North deepened. The northern blacks were louder than the south. For instance, in the North the British changed their focus from the external threat from Florida to the internal threats that were subjected by the Africans. The uprising African rebellion was seen as a threat to the security. Consequently, the colonists had to limit the numbers of the African in the northern America and also retrieve the Africans who were escaping to Florida (Horne 74). Similarly, the situation of the security threat was also felt in the south where it was feared that the founding fathers would bring rise to the rebellions of Antigua and Jamaica (Horne 348). This illustrates that the African American in north and south had a common view of their tribulation enhanced by the horror of slavery. Therefore, to avoid such tribulations they had to form rebellions, which in turn exposed colonies to the security threat.
Since time immemorial, the whites undermined African Americans and considered them inferior objects meant to serve them. The freed slaves in the North presented numerous problems. Gerald Horne believed that slavery reinforced all aspects of the pre-1776 economy, and this captured the attention of the colonists. The slave resistance continued to grow, and slave revolts popularity increased. In the late 17th century, The Royal African Company lost the monopoly in the slave trade, and this increased the number of slaves. Fear entrapped the minds of the white as they perceived the uncontrolled number of slaves could introduce stiff resistance amongst the population. For instance, London thought of abolition of slavery and allowed Africans to possess weapons so that they could assist in wars between America and other countries like Spain and France. At the same time, the colonists were afraid of allowing equality and fairness to the African Americans making them feel superior. In his book, Horne believes that revolution focused on maintaining the institution of enslavement of the African Americans and achieves ‘liberty’ for ‘white’ colonists (Horne 78).
During the revolution, Africans either sided with Britain or other colonial masters. Spain and France remained possible liberators. Africans believed that the war provided an opportunity to fight for freedom and victory in the war was critical. The blacks believed that being slaves or free individuals was determined by their choice of supporting a specific side. For those who chose a losing side, they continued to be subjected under ill-treatment as they were denied their human rights.
In real sense, the white men supported the American Revolution by promising the slaves on liberty. The British experienced a shortage of manpower and enrolled Americans to fight in the war as they promised them liberty in exchange. The slaves who made the decision to join the army were free and not subjected to the harsh rule of the colonists. It was ironical for the American Revolution to claim that it set Africans free, but it was only aimed at gaining military size from the slaves. At first the blacks joined the army freely but later, they realized that the whites subjected them into oppression and falsely promise. The south thought it was time to completely abolish slavery and slave power and allow freedom to the blacks.
The African American views remained similar despite their geographical locations, their freedom and gender. All of them opposed slavery and fought for their rights as placed in the constitution. In most conversations, the Negro question captured the attention of most individual as they felt that time had come for the whites to halt oppression and inhumanity towards them. The slaves took the duty to end slavery in unison and condemned Negro prejudice (Schaller et al., 148). The Whites joined hand to deny the slaves of their rights and opposed any attempts to free the repulsive creatures from slavery. Men and women of African American descent spoke in a similar voice (Schaller et al., 148). Their views and opinions supported the abolition of slavery and whites had little to do but allow them a chance to have a better life.
The elucidation above demonstrates the rise of antislavery and the impacts instituted. As described, slavery and discrimination affected both the North and South. The slaves opposed the behavior of the whites, and this prompted to the fight of their freedom. The constitution was amended to disallow the activities of slavery, and the right of citizens was enshrined in the American Constitution (In DeSimone and In Louis132). The American Revolution failed to induce the equal rights of the slaves. The equality of the blacks failed to materialize during the reconstruction. The views and opinions of the slaves remained similar as they continued to press for their rights and freedom. The white colonists feared the large number of the slaves especially in the south and reached a point of freeing slaves if they agreed to join the army. The security threat posed by the undermined population set a positive progress towards the abolition of slavery in America.
Works Cited
Horne, G. The counter-revolution of 1776: Slave resistance and the origins of the United States of America. N.p., 2014. Print.
Horton, J. O., and L. E. Horton. In hope of liberty: Culture, community, and protest among northern free Blacks, 1700-1860. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. Print.
In DeSimone, E., and F. In Louis. Voices beyond bondage: An anthology of verse by African Americans of the 19th century. New York City: NewSouth Books, 2014. Print.
In Schaller, M., R. D. In Schulzinger, J. In Bezís-Selfa, J. T. In Greenwood, A. In Kirk, S. J. In Purcell, and A. C. In Sheehan-Dean. Reading American horizons: Primary sources for U.S. history in a global context. Oxford University Press,, 2013. Print.
Rael, P. Black identity and Black protest in the antebellum North. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2002. Print.
Rucker, Walter C. The River Flows on: Black Resistance, Culture, and Identity Formation in Early America. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State UP, 2006. Print.
Washington, B. T. Up from slavery: The autobiography of Booker T. Washington. Lexington, KY: Timeless Classics Books, 2008. Print.
