ived abuse by the English government the colonist expressed an attitude of natural rights positing that all humans are born free and equal. The colonist saw Great Britain’s policy on taxes and regulations as denying them their basic freedoms and therefore had the right to rebel. In addition to putting the colonist on a collision course with England, their ideologies had a profound influence on the institution of slavery. In 1774 the first Continental Congress even voted to end the importation of slavery though this was to retaliate against the British rather than humanitarian reasons. But one of the best-known uses of race for political reasons in the antebellum period was the British Lord Dunmore calling of African Americans to join the army and fight against the Americans in the Revolutionary War; as a result if fought they would become free. Nonetheless Dunmore’s efforts failed due to a small pox outbreak in his camp and stricter slave codes, which made it harder for slaves to escape and join the British Army. Although African Americans had already fought in the Battle of Bunker Hill and Lexington and Concord, George Washington decided to not allow any more blacks to enlist in the Continental Army. During the course of the war much of the Continental Army was deserting, Washington then became desperate. Once Washington heard that the British had called African Americans to arms he then decided to rescind his order on the ban on allowing African Americans to enlist. It was that decision that won the war for America. The Revolutionary War damaged the institution of slavery, but the wealth of the south kept the south in political power, which meant slavery would remain. Slavery became the driving force of the American economy, the invention of the cotton gin helped to fuel the rise of the textile industry in England and in New England, this created a vast new demand for cotton. Southern plantations and farms doubled their ...
