From Slavery to Freedom, Edition 9, CHAPTER 5,and ODYSSEY PART 2B - Book Report/Review Example

Summary The starts with mentioning the great victory of the British Empire in the war with France. This event was significant as it shaped development of the country. The British decided to impose certain taxation and American land owners were reluctant to pay. Remarkably, landowners started their fight for being represented in the parliament to have the influence on the British policies concerning North America. Franklin and Higginbotham (2010, 81) stress that this fight was closely connected with the concepts of slavery and racism as landowners insisted that they would not become British “Negroes”.

In the second quarter of the eighteenth century, (former) white servants were becoming small landowners and they also joined the movement to gain more rights. Some politicians (Jefferson) addressed issues related to slavery or rather slave trade and condemned it. Many colonists were also against slavery as they believed it violated basic rules of the nature and God. However, these voices were not heard in the south and the British did not pay attention to them. The authors note that “[d]rawing from the political ideology of the American revolutionary crisis” African Americans started their own fight for their basic rights (Franklin and Higginbotham 2010, 92).

The fight was held in different ways: writing pamphlets, participating in demonstrations, escaping from their owners and so on. It is noteworthy that lots of African Americans became known to the public and became heroes for many (Black as well as White Americans). Such personalities as Crispus Attucks and Phillis Wheatley (who had a really remarkable life as she was born a slave and became a renowned poet and fighter for her people’s rights) became symbols of the fight and sufferings of slaves.

The authors also note that the Blacks had participated in the movement for American independence since the 17th century and they fought against British troops in the 18th century as well (Franklin and Higginbotham 2010). Notably, Americans did not want to enlist Blacks (free and slaves) to fight against the British and even changed the policy (they enlisted only Whites). However, the British policy, known as Dunmore Proclamation, ensured that slaves who fought for the British would obtain freedom.

Americans had to respond and Individual State Policies ensured enlistment of both free blacks and slaves, but these fighters were integrated in the troops as only a few units of blacks existed. At the same time, many Haitian black slaves fought for France. After the end of the war, the movement for slavery abolition started. Many Americans andAfrican Americans created societies or fought individually for slaves’ rights. There were numerous rebellions and demonstrations that, eventually, resulted in abolition of slave trade and later slavery in the USA.

Freedom’s JournalFreedom’s Journal was the first newspaper owned and controlled by African Americans (African American Odyssey 2014). The newspaper’s creators claimed that they wanted to tell true stories about African Americans, their hardships and their fight. They wanted to remove all misrepresentations to make the fight for their rights successful. The newspaper’s creators tried to reach out to 250,000 people of color (which was the half of population of African Americans at that time).

However, the newspaper existed only until 1830.Nonetheless, it had a great impact as the newspaper told stories of African Americans and created a realistic image of an African American. Reference ListAfrican American Odyssey. 2014. “Free Blacks in the Antebellum Period.” Last modified 2014. Accessed October 3, 2014. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/aaohtml/aopart2b.html.Franklin, John Hope, and Evelyn Higginbotham. 2010. From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African Americans. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.