disease. Aptheker showed that though loyalist slaves gained their freedom after the Revolution, many ended up in similar enslaved situations or would often die due to poor conditions. The British offered an incentive to freedom knowing that slavery was a great commodity for the colonies, creating an incentive for slaves to join the loyalist fight, therefore the Revolution became a war over slavery.
Aptheker proved that slaves did not live passive lives, and almost always searched for their freedom thus disproving previous scholars before him. Previous historians, such as Phillips viewed slaves as docile and obedient, while Aptheker showed that most slaves hoped for “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” He argued that slaves were denied basic human rights, therefore they would take any chance to gain their…show more content… According to the author, the slaves did not feel loyal to the British or Americans, and “had freedom of choice” to join whatever side was most beneficial to them. Quarles argued that African Americans freely participated in the American Revolution, not due to any loyalty to their nation but to gain their freedom. Many southerners barred African Americans from joining the military due to an overwhelming fear of rebellion and uprising. After Lord Dunmore’s proclamation, southerners feared slaves would turn against their master and create a greater support group for the British. Many slaves sided with the colonies in the North, while most slaves in the South joined the British due to the incentive of gaining their freedom. Quarles became one of the first historians to create an argument for black agency built around the slave’s resistance to the institution within a major war, the white War for Independence, therefore creating one of the largest slave ‘flights’ in
