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Go directly to the collection, The Church in the Southern Black Community, 1780-1925, in American Memory, or view a Summary of Resources related to the collection.

• Black Americans and the Church in Colonial America |
• Early Anti-Slavery Efforts by Religious Communities |
• The American Revolution |
• The Growth of African Methodist Episcopal and Baptist Churches in the New Nation |
• Responses to Slavery in the New Nation |
• The Civil War |
• Churches in the Black Community Following the Civil War |
• The Federal Government's Role |
• African Americans at the Beginning of the Twentieth Century

The American Revolution

In his book designed for use in schools, Edward A. Johnson devoted two chapters to the role of African Americans in the American Revolution. Read Chapters XI and XII of A School History of the Negro Race in America, 1619-1890, and consider the following questions:

• Why did some African Americans join the British forces? Do you think it was a good decision? Why or why not?
• Explain the plan for African American troops that was put forth by Alexander Hamilton and Colonel Laurens. Why, according to George Washington, did the plan fail? Do you agree with his statement “It is not the public but private interest which influences the generality of mankind”? Give examples from U.S. history to support your answer.
• List the African Americans whose contributions to the war effort Johnson described. Use the list to write a paragraph summarizing the African American contribution to the American Revolution.
• Johnson recounts several anecdotes about George Washington. How do these stories inform your views of Washington? What, if any, new insights into his character do you gain?