Editor's Choice
How did the American Revolution impact US racial minority groups?
Quick answer:
The American Revolution had mixed impacts on racial minority groups. African Americans saw limited change; some gained freedom by supporting the British, but the majority remained enslaved. Native Americans suffered significantly, as the British loss resulted in increased American expansion into their territories. Post-war treaties forced Native Americans off their lands, exacerbating conflicts and marking a new phase of harsh relations. Overall, the Revolution did not substantially improve the status of these minority groups.
The two main groups in this question are African Americans and Native Americans. During his southern campaign, the British General Cornwallis promised freedom to any slave who escaped and join the British side. This alienated Southern planters who before this viewed the war as a fight of Northeastern shopkeepers against Parliament. Not only did this cause many Southerners to join the patriot cause, but many slaveowners also tightened their grip on their slaves, passing even more stringent punishments on those who showed any signs of disobedience. Furthermore, the slaves who did run away and join the British army escaped into Canada after the war, rather than go back to the plantations. Some slaves and freed men helped the colonial army in the North, but their numbers were quite small.
The Native Americans, who helped the British army during the war, were treated very harshly afterwards. After the war, the American...
Unlock This Answer Now
Start your 48-hour free trial and get ahead in class. Boost your grades with access to expert answers and top-tier study guides. Thousands of students are already mastering their assignments—don't miss out. Cancel anytime.
Already a member? Log in here.
government signed many treaties with the Native Americans west of the Appalachians in order to push them off of this coveted land. The end of the war would mark a new bloody chapter in white-native relations, as Britain did not pull out of the Great Lakes region as dictated by the 1783 Treaty of Paris.
At the time of the American Revolution, there were two major racial minorities in the United States. These were African Americans, most of whom were enslaved, and the Native Americans who were mostly separate from colonial society. Neither of these groups got any benefit from the Revolution. In fact, the Native Americans were hurt by it to some degree. African Americans as a group were not strongly affected.
Some African Americans were affected. The British promised freedom to slaves who fought for them. In addition, the same promise was made to some African Americans by the colonists. The war helped some of these African Americans, who were set free either in the new United States or with the British in Nova Scotia. However, some were still enslaved in spite of the promises made to them. As a group, African Americans were not affected much by the Revolution. The mass of African Americans were slaves before, during, and after the Revolution.
Native Americans were generally harmed by the Revolution. The British had protected Native Americans to some degree from westward expansion by the colonists. This was seen most clearly in the Proclamation of 1763. For this and other reasons, most Native Americans who took sides in the war sided with the British. When the Americans won the war, they got all the lands east of the Mississippi. They soon pushed the Native Americans out of these lands. Thus, the Native Americans suffered from the Revolution because it helped ensure that they would be driven off their ancestral lands.