Life, Liberty, and Slavery: The Slave Revolt That Pushed the South to Support Independence
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John Trumbull's Declaration of Independence
Colonial rebels had menaced Lord Dunmore, Virginia’s Royal Governor, throughout 1775. In June, they had driven him from the capital, Williamsburg. He spent the next few months confined to a ship, as the rebels asserted control of the colony. In November, Virginia’s House of Burgesses moved to strip Dunmore of his remaining authority. Trapped, threatened, and humiliated, Dunmore did the unthinkable: he declared martial law and emancipated all slaves who would join the British Army.
News of Dunmore’s proclamation raced through the Southern colonies, horrifying the white colonists. Southerners were appalled that Dunmore would dare to encourage a slave uprising. Their outrage would help tip America towards independence.
When the first shots were fired at Lexington and Concord, few Americans believed they were fighting to create a new nation. Most considered themselves British and hoped for reconciliation with the crown. The South, with its agricultural export economy, would suffer greatly if its trade were disrupted. Thus, many leading Southerners took a cautious line as hostilities began. Even those supporting the Continental cause, George Washington included, did not immediately see that cause as one of independence. In July 1775, the Continental Congress sought compromise, sending the Olive Branch Petition to King George, addressing him as their “most gracious sovereign.”
John Adams and other early supporters of separation from Britain acknowledged that the rebellion could only succeed if the colonies remained unified. For this reason, Adams proposed the Virginian Washington to lead the Continental Army. Without unanimity, the Continental Congress could not consider declaring independence. Moving too quickly towards outright separation risked creating fatal divisions in their ranks.
Although Adams opposed slavery, his dreams of independence received a massive boost from Dunmore’s Proclamation. Nothing struck fear into the hearts of white Southerners like a slave revolt. In the 17th century, white indentured servants and black slaves in Virginia had joined forces against their masters. These terrifying uprisings inspired the ruling classes to devise a policy of divide and conquer, passing strict laws affirming white supremacy. In 1739, the Stono rebellion led to the deaths of 25 white colonists and nearly 50 black slaves. Once defeated, the rebels were decapitated, and their heads stuck on pikes as a warning to other slaves.
White slaveowners had no illusions that legal and physical violence underpinned their society. Washington’s cousin wrote that “there is not a man of them but would leave us if they believed they could make their escape.” By the American Revolution, slaves were fast becoming the nation’s most valuable economic asset. Their value and numbers (nearly 40% of the South’s population in 1780 was enslaved) made a slave revolt especially frightening. James Madison described a slave uprising as Virginia’s “Achilles heel” in the fight against Britain. Washington was sufficiently alarmed to declare “Dunmore should instantly crushed, if it takes the whole force of the army to do it.”
Given the stakes, the Virginia Assembly’s response to Dunmore’s Proclamation was unequivocal. Any fugitive slaves caught attempting to join Dunmore would be executed. Given the difficulties and dangers of joining the British, fewer than one-thousand slaves answered the governor’s call. The slaves ultimately played a minor role in the conflict. However, their impact on Southern colonial sentiment was profound. Declaration signer Edward Rutledge remarked, the Dunmore Proclamation would “more effectually work an eternal separation between Great Britain and the Colonies – than any other expedient which could possibly be thought of.” With palpable disgust, fellow signer Richard Henry Lee noted that “Lord Dunmore’s unparalleled conduct…has united every man in [Virginia].”
No man better underscores the fundamental contradictions of America’s birth than Thomas Jefferson. While asserting that “all men are created equal”, Jefferson considered blacks “as incapable as children.” Despite his intellectual opposition to slavery, he owned slaves and believed emancipation would result in a racial war. Jefferson’s original draft of the Declaration blamed King George for the “execrable commerce” of slavery. Then, Jefferson revealed his deeper grievance, that Britain was “now exciting those very people [the slaves] to rise in arms among us, and to purchase [their] liberty.” Regardless of his Enlightenment convictions, Jefferson, like many of his planter class, saw slave revolts as an existential threat.
Slavery was not the only reason America declared independence. Thomas Paine’s Common Sense provided persuasive arguments that spoke to ordinary citizens. Ham-handed British policies also furthered the estrangement by treating the colonists like enemies. Hiring Hessian mercenaries to fight the colonists was particularly despised. However, the South viewed Dunmore’s proclamation as equally offensive. It is a bitter irony that the desire to deny blacks their “inalienable rights” helped make the Declaration of Independence possible
6 Comments 1 New
John Trumbull's Declaration of Independence
Colonial rebels had menaced Lord Dunmore, Virginia’s Royal Governor, throughout 1775. In June, they had driven him from the capital, Williamsburg. He spent the next few months confined to a ship, as the rebels asserted control of the colony. In November, Virginia’s House of Burgesses moved to strip Dunmore of his remaining authority. Trapped, threatened, and humiliated, Dunmore did the unthinkable: he declared martial law and emancipated all slaves who would join the British Army.
News of Dunmore’s proclamation raced through the Southern colonies, horrifying the white colonists. Southerners were appalled that Dunmore would dare to encourage a slave uprising. Their outrage would help tip America towards independence.
When the first shots were fired at Lexington and Concord, few Americans believed they were fighting to create a new nation. Most considered themselves British and hoped for reconciliation with the crown. The South, with its agricultural export economy, would suffer greatly if its trade were disrupted. Thus, many leading Southerners took a cautious line as hostilities began. Even those supporting the Continental cause, George Washington included, did not immediately see that cause as one of independence. In July 1775, the Continental Congress sought compromise, sending the Olive Branch Petition to King George, addressing him as their “most gracious sovereign.”
John Adams and other early supporters of separation from Britain acknowledged that the rebellion could only succeed if the colonies remained unified. For this reason, Adams proposed the Virginian Washington to lead the Continental Army. Without unanimity, the Continental Congress could not consider declaring independence. Moving too quickly towards outright separation risked creating fatal divisions in their ranks.
Although Adams opposed slavery, his dreams of independence received a massive boost from Dunmore’s Proclamation. Nothing struck fear into the hearts of white Southerners like a slave revolt. In the 17th century, white indentured servants and black slaves in Virginia had joined forces against their masters. These terrifying uprisings inspired the ruling classes to devise a policy of divide and conquer, passing strict laws affirming white supremacy. In 1739, the Stono rebellion led to the deaths of 25 white colonists and nearly 50 black slaves. Once defeated, the rebels were decapitated, and their heads stuck on pikes as a warning to other slaves.
White slaveowners had no illusions that legal and physical violence underpinned their society. Washington’s cousin wrote that “there is not a man of them but would leave us if they believed they could make their escape.” By the American Revolution, slaves were fast becoming the nation’s most valuable economic asset. Their value and numbers (nearly 40% of the South’s population in 1780 was enslaved) made a slave revolt especially frightening. James Madison described a slave uprising as Virginia’s “Achilles heel” in the fight against Britain. Washington was sufficiently alarmed to declare “Dunmore should instantly crushed, if it takes the whole force of the army to do it.”
Given the stakes, the Virginia Assembly’s response to Dunmore’s Proclamation was unequivocal. Any fugitive slaves caught attempting to join Dunmore would be executed. Given the difficulties and dangers of joining the British, fewer than one-thousand slaves answered the governor’s call. The slaves ultimately played a minor role in the conflict. However, their impact on Southern colonial sentiment was profound. Declaration signer Edward Rutledge remarked, the Dunmore Proclamation would “more effectually work an eternal separation between Great Britain and the Colonies – than any other expedient which could possibly be thought of.” With palpable disgust, fellow signer Richard Henry Lee noted that “Lord Dunmore’s unparalleled conduct…has united every man in [Virginia].”
No man better underscores the fundamental contradictions of America’s birth than Thomas Jefferson. While asserting that “all men are created equal”, Jefferson considered blacks “as incapable as children.” Despite his intellectual opposition to slavery, he owned slaves and believed emancipation would result in a racial war. Jefferson’s original draft of the Declaration blamed King George for the “execrable commerce” of slavery. Then, Jefferson revealed his deeper grievance, that Britain was “now exciting those very people [the slaves] to rise in arms among us, and to purchase [their] liberty.” Regardless of his Enlightenment convictions, Jefferson, like many of his planter class, saw slave revolts as an existential threat.
Slavery was not the only reason America declared independence. Thomas Paine’s Common Sense provided persuasive arguments that spoke to ordinary citizens. Ham-handed British policies also furthered the estrangement by treating the colonists like enemies. Hiring Hessian mercenaries to fight the colonists was particularly despised. However, the South viewed Dunmore’s proclamation as equally offensive. It is a bitter irony that the desire to deny blacks their “inalienable rights” helped make the Declaration of Independence possible
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