Chapter 6: A Revolution, Indeed, 1774-1783





The following activities accompany the Legacy for a People and a Nation on "The Black Patriots' Memorial" in Chapter 6. Refer to page 164 of Norton, A People and a Nation, Sixth Edition for the complete text of this Legacy. There are three parts to this web page: Questions to Consider, Investigation, and Further Exploration.




Questions to Consider
1. How has the struggle for obtaining recognition for the Black Patriots compared to the experiences of other veterans' groups?

2. To whom did most Blacks offer their allegiance during the American Revolutionary War?

3. Can you think of minority groups that have fought with their colonizing country, hoping that loyal service would bring liberation? How have these groups been treated?

4. Should private industry support the funding of public monuments? What might be the implications of such practices?


Investigation
Read the discussion on H-Net among historians about the appropriateness of the Black Patriots' Memorial. Write a short essay addressing whether the Black Patriot's Memorial will do more to distort or to correct the historical record.
You may want to look at the proposed memorial before reaching your conclusions.




Further Exploration
1. Visit the official Web site of the Black Patriots Foundation and note the sponsors and organizations endorsing this effort. Read about five black slaves who died in defense of the American Revolution. See pictures of the memorial and note its planned location on the Mall.

2. Compare the Black Patriots’ Memorial to that of Saint-Gaudens’ Memorial to Robert Gould Shaw, the head of the Massachusetts Fifty-fourth Regiment of African-Americans in the U.S. Civil War. How did the artist depict the African-American soldiers who fought in the Civil War?