User:Ducky325/American Revolutionary War

The American Revolution was a war between the newly formed United States and Great Britain that lasted from 1775 until 1783. The 13 Colonies were tired of the tyrannical rule of the King and decided to start a new nation, their own nation. Taxation led the 13 colonies to rebellion from Great Britain. Events like the Boston Tea Party showed rebellion and lead to the revolutionary war. One component typically looked over in this period of time is what happened to the soldiers after the war and what happened to the African's who served in the revolution.

After the Revolutionary War concluded and the United States was its own nation the country went into a state focused on politics and focused on becoming a successful government and nation. The soldiers after the revolution weren't rewarded for their service until 1818 once the revolutionary war pension act was signed into law. These soldiers who were willing to lay down their lives for a free country and weren't rewarded until they were old or dead. African Soldiers fought in the war for freedom from slavery or already free Africans fought for the promises of land. They fought for a free nation just like all other men. Africans wanted their independence as a people not a country and were willing to lay their lives down for that. There aren't too many recorded accounts of African War heroes from the revolutionary due to racism at the time, but African's war efforts helped the United States become a country.

Becker, Ann. "The Revolutionary War Pension Act of 1818." Historical Journal of Massachusetts, vol. 47, no. 2, summer 2019, pp. 99+. Gale OneFile: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A616318182/PPUS?u=tel_a_pstcc&sid=bookmark-PPUS&xid=a4136f42. Accessed 30 Sept. 2022.

Williams-Myers, A.J. "Out of the shadows: African descendants--revolutionary combatants in the Hudson River Valley; a preliminary historical sketch." Afro-Americans in New York Life and History, vol. 31, no. 1, Jan. 2007, pp. 91+. Gale OneFile: U.S. History link.gale.com/apps/doc/A158529011/PPUS?u=tel_a_pstcc&sid=bookmark-PPUS&xid=a864b7d8. Accessed 30 Sept. 2022.