2025/09/01 by Andrea N. Miles · 1 voice
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #American Constitutional Law and Politics #Colonialism, slavery, and trade #Literature: history, themes, analysis
paper · doi:10.1353/eam.2025.a974705
openalex publication_date 2025/09/01 · openalex created_date 2025/11/18 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
Abstract: This essay analyzes the motivations of approximately 500 free Black revolutionary soldiers from North Carolina, challenging the prevailing notion that their enlistment in Patriot forces was primarily driven by freedom from British tyranny or enslavement. Instead, the article highlights how class and economic factors, such as local taxation, were pivotal in shaping the decisions of free Blacks during the Revolutionary era. It assesses the involvement of free Blacks in colonial political and economic conflicts, including the War of Regulation (1765-1771) and the Battle of Wilmington (1781). In essence, this essay explores how political upheaval in the province, the active participation of free Black men in provincial politics, and their engagement in North Carolina's militia throughout the late colonial era influenced their alliances during the Revolutionary War.