The Negro in Revolutionary Georgia / Alton Hornsby, Jr.

One of a series of pamphlets about the American Revolution in Georgia, this document explores the role of the black population during the Revolutionary War. Designed for junior and senior high school students, it can be used as supplementary reading or a one-week unit. A teacher's guide is included. Black life in the Revolutionary era, for both slaves and free blacks, was regulated by the same laws and customs prevailing in the pre-war period. Many colonies allowed slaves to join the military efforts of both the patriot and British causes, but Georgia's government refused to arm slaves for combat services and to grant freedom for such service. Black slaves were used in non-combat roles such as defending military storehouses and repairing roads. There are several recorded instances of native free blacks serving for the patriots in Georgia and several hundred blacks from the Caribbean island of Santo Domingo served briefly at Savannah. Although the war ruined plantation life in many areas and reduced the slave population, fundamental tenets of the racial caste system remained largely intact for those blacks who stayed. The teacher's guide contains lists of behavioral objectives, discussion questions, and activities based on the text. (Author/AV)

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