Patrick Henry Give Me Liberty

Andrew Lampman
HIST 202A-03 MW 0800-0930
An American Discourse to Liberty Americans often remember the battle cry of Patrick Henry “Give me liberty,” though many forget that with the liberation of America in the 1770s from British control, Black Americans remained in bondage in this nation. The American Revolution revealed the hypocrisy of liberty; as the colonies fought for independence, enslavement remained an integral part of the new nation. Liberation was the idea that men had certain inalienable rights that were deemed “god given.” The problem with having these rights was that they were exclusive to white, land owning men. The segregation of black men specifically allowed the institution of enslavement to scourge the land with fear of
There could be no freedom without dissonance, “We are not given liberty we take it.” (Dr. Dennis oral quote). The years of oppression faced by men and women of color lead white people realized the magnitude of this perpetual enslavement beyond the length of a chain. As revolt became more common so did the fear faced by the oppressors. The enlightenment period lead to the epiphany that, “The memorialists recognized that many slaves had been emancipated; that the same principles that prompted past manumissions would gradually effect the freedom of all others; that freedmen should be able ‘to rise to that condition to which they are entitled by the laws of God and nature’; therefore, they should be separated from the whites and placed in a favorable situation, possibly Africa.” (Sherwood, TFACS, 1917, p.214). The social dialog did not include the ideology that black and white families can live together. This was based in the devastating social inequality that was plaguing the new nation. A self-report from a black scholar from Damascus stated, “Some of you may find me offensive. I shall therefore sit and eat apart.” (Davis, IB, 2006, p.63). This dialog was ingrained in the persons of color since before the notion of liberty were ever spoken. As the notion of liberty began to develop as a result of the enlightenment
One of the more notable prospects was headed by Stephan Duncan, a wealthy slave holder with neither need nor desire for philanthropy, who established the Mississippi Colonization Society, a state auxillary society, the same year as the Nat Turner rebellion. His concerns littered the minds of white people stating proclaiming fear in being outnumbered by blacks five to one. With the rebellions gaining success, some white people took it upon themselves to motivate blacks to leave the community and take up ventures. Some of the more “friendly” and forthright people belonged to the Klu Klux Clan. “As Charles Sydnor noted, so distressed were slaveholders by the increased numbers of free Blacks, the state passed a law in 1831, which required all adult free blacks to leave Mississippi.” (Dennis, TMCEL, 2011, p. 128). Though the argument occurred that there would not have been a colonization society without a large black population, a fact arose upon research that, “…551 freed slaves, obtained freedom in the state during a brief window of opportunity in the form of a necessary evil, the Mississippi State Colonization Society.” (Dennis, TMCEL, 2011, p.129). This would lead one to believe that slaves were freed upon advantage of their holders in this time, without the only other option being to remain a slave. Upon