The Empire Strikes Out: Revolutions Won and Lost

Question 1

Philipsburg Proclamation

Answer 1

The American Revolution had weakened slavery; it weakened slavery for many reasons, but the most fundamental was that the revolution was founded on ideas of equality, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness…

In the Carolinas, similar to Dunmore’s proclamation, the Philipsburg Proclamation offered freedom for any slave that fought for the King. True intent can be seen in its second clause, which stipulates that any slave that refuses to fight would be sold in the Caribbean

No matter the intents of the British, the 20,000 black men that served in their army fought for a real independence (not a theoretical one)

Question 2

PA Gradual Abolition Act

Answer 2

• Led by a group of Quakers (men, and some women), formed the PA Anti-Slavery Society; Quakers were pacifists which slavery violates
• Seal was a kneeling slave, hands shackled, asking the question: “Am I not a man and a brother?”
• Argument was built on humanity; tried to apply the declaration of independence and natural rights to slaves
• Worked on this effort all throughout the revolution, despite wealthy slaveowners in PA who lobbied against the growing anti-slavery sentiment…
• In 1780, their efforts culminated in the PA gradual abolition act (slaves born after the day the law passed would receive their freedom at 28); the act was radical for its time
• Anti-slavery societies imitating PA would form and begin lobbying for similar legislation –> MA, NH, RI, CT would be next (lowest slave populations)

Question 3

Quok Walker

Answer 3

• MA had ended slavery completely, but it did not happen through the MA state legislature, but was done through the MA constitution
• Elizabeth Freeman begins a trend of suing masters for freedom; inspires Quok Walker
• Quok Walker, inspired by Freeman, sued his master for his freedom and also the entire state for allowing slavery to continue despite the language in the state’s constitution
• He won; “perpetual servitude can no longer be tolerated in our government, and liberty can only be forfeited by criminal conduct”

Question 4

Treaty of Paris (1783)

Answer 4

• All nations / communities involved in the war were represented except the Native peoples, who were not invited
• All those Native nations who had sided with the British had sold them out to the American states; allowed Americans to control land all the way to the MS river; Natives wanted them to not pass the Appalachian mts
• Naturally, the British have no true jurisdiction to give away Native land however, in proclaiming to be able to do so, they give Americans the onerous justification to take the land
• British also promised to vacate British military forts; they lied however… instead, from these forts, they provided Native peoples all through the region weapons to slow American progress; having sold the Natives out, British now wanted to use them to slow their new rivals
• Native took the weapons, though not fully trusting the British

Question 5

Northwest Ordinance

Answer 5

• Settled the question of what would happen to the Ohio River Valley territory, the land west of the Appalachian mountains
  1. All 13 states would give up their claim on the land; all land would become new states (would become a state over time as people moved into these territories)
  2. In the Northwest territories above the Ohio River, slavery would be banned… legal west of the mountains, south of the OH river

From the American perspective, the Northwest ordinance represented a victory for democracy; Americans had allowed for people in the new territories to govern themselves… from the Native perspective, they still lived in the lands that were distributed & planning to be settled; to them, the Northwest Ordinance represented an invasion plan