African American Women
85% of people who took the survey believed that enslaved women were participating in the American Revolution. While their lives were impacted by the Revolution, they themselves didn’t often participate in the fighting. Instead, many enslaved women used the chaos of war to their advantage, which in some cases meant fleeing their enslavers.
Source: Slavery Images
In November 1775, John Murray, Earl of Dunmore and Governor of Virginia wrote a declaration stating that all enslaved that were able to bear arms should join the British Army. He promised freedom in return for military service for the Crown. This promise although lacking when compared to the modern day definition of freedom was enough to drive many slaves and especially women to become loyalists and support the loyalist cause in hopes of gaining their freedom. This proclamation also announced that Patriots had betrayed the King. Enslaved people would escape their captors by the thousands and many willing to take their chances with the British, both men and women, and uprooted their lives of forced service for lives for themselves.
Enslaved and freed black women took drastic initiative in utilizing their resources, as demonstrated in Love of Freedom, historians Catherine Adams and Elizabeth Pleck discuss the various jobs that these women took up, such as “cooks for white families,” and the making of homespun cloth. These women took whatever opportunity, which was rare and mainly in the north, to make a living for themselves and their families. While they did partake in some spying, many black women labored in the homes of white families . While many women sought these opportunities, others continued to face persecution in the south and other states less accommodating to enslaved individuals’ freedom.
AN EXCEPTIONAL WOMAN: ELIZABETH FREEDMAN
Born Mum Bett, a slave in Massechusetts, Elizabeth Freedman was particularly interested in the rebel cause. After the Revolution concluded she filed a freedom suit. In 1781, she won her freedom, set an important precedent, and changed her legal name to Elizabeth Freedman. While her story is uncommon, it shows a woman who used the Revolution to gain freedom. Freedman gave hope to many who wished to escape their enslavers.
Source: BlackPast
Source: Library Company of Philadelphia
AN EXCEPTIONAL WOMAN: PHYLLIS WHEATLEY
Phillis Wheatley was an enslaved woman in colonial America until she was freed on October 18, 1775. She was the first African American poet to be published, and helped in opening the minds of her fellow colonists through the use of written word. Her poem “Being Brought From Africa” was especially a powerful tool used to appeal to white readers. Through her writing, Phillis was able to gain sympathy and understanding, or at least opened the door to the idea of such a thing. Her writing humanized enslaved people to the white individuals that had taken part in the dehumanization of them for so long.