LABOR: Not All Are Created Equal

Cuff Freedom, Dick Freedom, Ned Freedom, Peter Freeman, Cuff Liberty, Jeffrey Liberty, Pomp Liberty. These are some of the names that Negroes chose when they were allowed to join the Continental Army. The words express the deepest wish of the 530,000 black people in the Colonies. Less than 10% live north of Maryland. In the south about 90% are slaves.

In the early months of the struggle with England, especially in New England, many Negroes fought in the colonial forces, and it was informal policy to offer freedom to any slave who joined a muster. Since early this year, however, the Congress and General Washington have banned Negroes (slaves and freedmen alike) from the Continental Army—the only official exceptions being black men who have already served. The various colonies have followed suit, except for Virginia, which still permits all free men to serve in its militia. The immediate reason for the ban is to discourage slaves from leaving their masters and thus to help ensure the wholehearted commitment of the southern colonies to the war. Although the new Declaration of Independence speaks ringingly of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, such rights do not apply to slaves because they are property.

Despite the weight of custom and commerce, the past decade has seen a very slowly growing opposition to slavery on both sides of the Atlantic. Much of it has been stirred by the belief that the rights of man are as universal as Jefferson has said. Thomas Paine of the Pennsylvania Magazine has published an article arguing that the slave, “who is proper owner of his freedom, has a right to reclaim it, however often sold.” Adds Dr. Benjamin Rush, a leader of a Philadelphia antislavery movement: “The plant of liberty is of so tender a nature, that it cannot thrive long in the neighborhood of slavery.”

In 1772, a Court of King’s Bench decision in London in favor of a runaway slave, James Somerset, brought slavery to a virtual end in England. But in the Colonies, real moves against slavery have been few. Three years ago, a group of slaves in Massachusetts petitioned the General Court to be free of bondage. Another group applied to the legislature, asking that they be allowed to work for themselves one day a week and so buy their freedom. No one answered the appeals. Though the Massachusetts legislature has been offered various bills abolishing the slave trade, all have been defeated. Other colonies have forbidden the trade, however, and this April the Continental Congress reaffirmed the laws by banning the importation of new slaves. But this was done mainly to strike at British trade. Cynics point out, moreover, that the present slave supply is ample. (Negro population has more than doubled since 1750.)

The rich soil and long growing season in the south have encouraged the growth of large plantations, which can most efficiently be worked by slaves, often 1,000 or more. Since slaves have been available for about £40 each, they now make up a good part of the labor force that cultivates tobacco, rice and indigo, the three main products in the south. The owners’ discipline is firm, for as Virginia’s Colonel Landon Carter puts it, “Kindness to a Negro by way of reward for having done well is the surest way to spoil him.” Although slaves usually are legally considered personal property (some states have decreed them to be real estate), defenders of slavery point out that they are not without rights. The law in South Carolina imposes a fine of £5 on any owner who makes a slave work more than 15 hours a day. An owner can also be fined £100 for mutilating a slave or £ 350 for killing him during punishment.

Fears of a possible Negro uprising were greatly strengthened last November when John Murray, Earl of Dunmore and Governor of Virginia, attempted to raise Negro soldiers for the Crown. Declaring martial law in the colony, Dunmore offered freedom to any slave who joined him. Within a few weeks, nearly 300 runaways were enlisted in the Ethiopian Regiment, issued arms and uniforms bearing the words “Liberty to Slaves.”

Virginia patriots were horror-struck. Patrick Henry (who became famous last year by shouting “Give me liberty or give me death!”) declared Dunmore’s action “fatal to the publick safety.” Virginians mobilized against the British Governor, threatening to hang any slaves who tried to join the Ethiopian Regiment and finally defeating his force of 600 men in a battle at Great Bridge. Dunmore retreated to Norfolk, then took to the sea in British ships as his black troops fell prey to a smallpox epidemic.

If the war drags on, policies may change—on both sides. In America the supply of volunteers will probably grow short because many soldiers are farmers and must work the land or starve. If it does, the system of offering freedom to all slaves willing to fight the British may be revived. Among various other plans, the most ironic is a bonus system that has been discussed in southern colonies. In place of the usual land and/or cash, a poor volunteer willing to fight against British enslavement may be given a slave of his very own.