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Essay / The Political Consequences of the American Revolution
This American freedom was intended purely for whites, as the “Patriots simultaneously maintained the practice of race-based slavery in the colonies” (172). African American participation in the Revolutionary War, both enslaved and free, increased due to the British Army's efforts to counter the lack of freedom in America. Lord Dunmore proclaimed that he would promise freedom to slaves who fought alongside the British, creating the "Ethiopian Regiment" (172). However, the American elite, particularly in the southern states, contradicted British views on freedom by transforming the Revolution into a war defending slavery. Southern states were incredibly outspoken in their belief in maintaining traditional racial customs and persecuting African Americans and enslaved blacks. Southerners “convinced the Continental Congress to order General Washington, until February 1776, not to enlist any more African Americans, free or enslaved” (173). When the Thirteen Colonies created the Continental Congress and the newly formed states emerged, hesitation to grant more freedom to this racial minority increased. The American elite failed to strengthen the democracy of enslaved and free blacks during the Revolutionary War, ultimately causing these people to shift their support from the Patriots to the Loyalists. However, in 1865, the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which reflected British notions of equality and liberty, stated that "neither slavery nor involuntary servitude...shall exist in the United States.”