American Patriots argued that America needed to leave the British Empire so that they could be free and have their own liberty. But what did that mean for the Black slaves that Americans owned?
Black Patriots and Loyalists: Fighting for Emancipation in the War for Independence, by Alan Gilbert, brings a critical eye to the contradiction that while white American colonists were fighting for liberty and independence, thousands of black men and women were enslaved in the thirteen colonies. The book shows how the promise of freedom drew the enlistment and service of both free and enslaved blacks into the Continental Army and the British Army throughout the Revolutionary War.
Short History of the Beginning of the American Revolution |
Conflict Between White Patriots and Loyalists |
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Below is a series of Historical Fiction Cartoons called "Liberty Kids."
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1 Boston Tea Party / 1773 December 16Sarah arrives in America aboard the Dartmouth, but Moses, James, and Henri are not the only ones who meet the ship. Sam Adams leads a gang of patriots dressed as Indians aboard to destroy the tea and the kids are caught in the middle. (Note: Due to the episode title with the inspired subject, Henri throws the parsley in the water and loudly yells, "No taxation without representation!" at the British Redcoats.)
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2 Intolerable Acts / 1774 MarchJames, Sarah, Henri, and Moses are stuck in Boston at the home of Phillis Wheatley when Boston is under curfew due to the Acts. Weddebrun castigates Franklin.
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3 United We Stand / 1774 SeptemberJames covers the First Continental Congress, while Sarah travels to Boston to supply the resistance movement.
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4 Liberty or Death / 1775 MarchHaving traveled to Virginia to buy a new press, Moses sees his brother Cato about to be sold into slavery and attempts to stop it, while the kids hear that Patrick Henry is about to rally the southern patriots.
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5 Midnight Ride / 1775 AprilJames and Sarah travel to Boston with a message from the Mechanics, reconnoitre with Dr. Warren, and join Paul Revere and William Dawes on their midnight ride.
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6 The Shot Heard Round the World / 1775 AprilJames and Sarah witness the Battles of Lexington and Concord, where Sarah's cousin Tom is killed.
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7 Green Mountain Boys / 1775 MayJames and Sarah meet up with Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys in Vermont, watch them drive away a portly landowner, then stow away with Allen and Benedict Arnold when they capture Fort Ticonderoga.
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*8 The Second Continental Congress / 1775 MayA British spy urges James and Henri to find out what is going on in the closed sessions of the Second Continental Congress. Meanwhile, Sarah and Moses schmooze George Washington, a delegate to the Congress and the newly chosen general of the Continental Army.
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9 Bunker Hill / 1775 June 17James witnesses the Battle of Bunker Hill from the American camp, while Sarah is in the British camp looking for a British soldier who knew her father, who is killed in action. Dr. Joseph Warren is also killed in the fighting, much to James' grief.
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10 Postmaster General Franklin / 1775 JulyJames and Sarah attempt to deliver mail between Philadelphia and New York, meeting with a committee of correspondence on the way. Meanwhile, Franklin is appointed Postmaster General by the Second Continental Congress.
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11 Washington Takes Command / 1775 AprilThe gang winters in Boston, where General Washington takes command and lifts the British occupation of Boston. James joins Henry Knox on his sojourn to Fort Ticonderoga.
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12 Common Sense / 1776 JanuaryBen's old friend Thomas Paine comes by to ask them to print his book Common Sense, which makes the case for breaking away from Britain. James and Henri are inspired, but Sarah is repulsed by the notion of rebellion and will not even read it.
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13 The First Fourth of July / 1776 JulyJames attempts to find out more about the debate over the Declaration; he rounds up delegates from New Jersey and Delaware. Meanwhile, Sarah goes through Thomas Jefferson's trash.
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