Impact of the American Revolution

Impact of the American Revoultion on African Americans

During the war: George Washington banned blacks from joining the army. Eventhough some blacks served under Washington in the French and Indian war.

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1775: Free African Americans were allowed to enlist in the army. Slaves still could not join. 1777: Second Continetial Congress extended the call to arms to all African Americans, including slaves. When most slaves enlisted, it was as substitues for their masters.

African Americans were recruited for 3 years instead of 3 months. They agreed to these terms because they were promised their freedom at the end of their service. The most famous African American unit was the 1st Rhode Island Regiment, which had roughly 300 men and was formed in 1778. This regiment held off 3 determinded attacks of the British.

Before the war: African Americans were used mostly as slaves in majority of the colonies. In the South, they were used on plantations to grow and harvest tobacco.

After the war: Most African Americans went back to being slaves. Those who were promised their freedom and survived were granted it.

The African Americans did not get the rights they expected to recieve after the war. It took until the Civil Rights Movement for them to get equal treatment. The Constitution was important to them however because it is the source that the African Americans based their agruements on and used it as leverage against the whites.

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