American Revolution: Slavery, Native Land, and Colonial Continuity

Thesis

The American Revolution fundamentally maintained colonial patterns because it preserved the exploitation of unfree labor and the aggressive seizure of Native land.

Main argument 1

Economic foundation stayed the same through reliance on unfree exploited labor.

Evidence 1A (Who, What, When)

Richard Frethorne, "An Indentured Servant's Letter Home" (1623).

Evidence 1A (What it shows)

Early Virginia was built on unfree laborers who were starved, beaten, and worked to death to enrich their masters.

Evidence 1B (Who, What, When)

The Framers, U.S. Constitution (1787).

Evidence 1B (What it shows)

The new republic legally protected unfree labor through the Three-Fifths Clause, the slave trade protection until 1808, and the Fugitive Slave Clause.

Tie-back 1

From early Virginia to the 1787 Constitution, American wealth still depended on the colonial system of forced labor.

Main argument 2

Territorial expansion stayed the same through the systematic theft of Native American land.

Evidence 2A (Who, What, When)

Thomas Harriot and John White, "A Brief and True Report" (1590).

Evidence 2A (What it shows)

Early English colonists viewed Native peoples and their lands as resources to exploit, dominate, and conquer.

Evidence 2B (Who, What, When)

Alexander McGillivray, "Letter to Governor O'Neill" (1785).

Evidence 2B (What it shows)

Creek nations had to keep fighting white American settlers who aggressively crossed borders and invaded tribal lands right after independence.

Tie-back 2

Independence simply replaced British rule with an American republic that continued the exact same colonial land theft.

Conclusion

The Revolution changed political leaders, but preserved colonial social hierarchies by protecting slavery and displacing Native nations.