See Your Declaration Americans!!!
See Your Declaration Americans!!!
Abolitionism, Americanism, and the Revolutionary Tradition in Free Black Politics
This chapter examines the foundations of black Americanism and abolitionism, with emphasis on how they are connected. It looks at how free black men and women interpreted the American Revolution as a set of promises that could only be fulfilled by the abolitionist movement. The chapter first considers the impact of revolutionary ideology on American blacks, followed by a discussion on the legacy of the American Revolution in the black freedom struggle during the antebellum period. It then analyzes the place of Americanism in black thought, paying particular attention to how free blacks in the early republic fought for both liberty and citizenship as rights they shared equally with other Americans. The chapter concludes by describing how the founders' ideology both legitimized the struggle against slavery and gave activists a means to challenge their opponents, including Thomas Jefferson himself.
Keywords: abolitionism, Americanism, American Revolution, revolutionary ideology, blacks, black freedom struggle, liberty, citizenship, slavery, Thomas Jefferson
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