American Revolution Dbq

876 Words4 Pages

Freedom and liberty were the reason for the American Revolution. There were different point of views on freedom and liberty, the Loyalists, the Patriots, and the slaves. The Loyalists, such as Elihu Lockton from the book Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson, thought that more freedom wasn’t necessary and was overrated since the freedom the king was giving was good enough and were treating the Loyalists well. The Patriots thought that freedom away from the king was needed because the colonies/Americans were being mistreated and didn’t want to live under the rules that were unfair for them. However, the slaves had a completely different view of freedom. Freedom from a slave’s point of view was being free from being a slave, able to be treated like …show more content…

Due to Mr. Lockton to being a loyalist, he thinks that the freedom the Patriots want is ridiculous and prefers going back to normal and living under the rule of the king. Mr. Lockton views freedom as winning the war so then he will be at peace. In source one, Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson, on page 61, Mr. Lockton states, “Every man willing to switch sides is to be paid five guineas and two hundred acres of land. If he have a wife, an additional hundred acres. Each child of his blood garners another fifty.” This shows that he would bribe patriots to switch sides so there would be more loyalists, which could help win the war. Overall, Mr. Lockton is a loyalist and views freedom as winning the war and going back to the normal life under the king so he is in …show more content…

First, they weren’t even able to have an opinion on the Revolutionary War, they would just be on the side their master’s were on. In source two, it says in the first paragraph, “That battle did not matter much, nor, at the end of the war, did it much matter for which side blacks bore arms, at least as it concerned their freedom.” This shows that it didn’t really matter which side the black slaves were on because they didn’t have an opinion really on it, but it had concerned their freedom. Freedom to the slaves would be being a free slave, having basic human rights, and living their own normal life where they are treated like humans. Being free from Britain or winning the war and staying under the rule of the tyrant wasn’t freedom to them. However, being a free slave was freedom to them. Isabel from the book Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson would definitely by one of those slaves. In the beginning of the book, Isabel tells Mr. Robert that she and her sister, Ruth, should be released and have freedom. Also throughout the book, she thinks about running away with Ruth so she doesn’t have to be a slave anymore. Although Isabel acts like a Patriot, being a spy and delivering news to Patriots, she is only in so she has a chance of leaving to anywhere else where she is a slave. Slaves, including Isabel, see their freedom as not being a slave and having a normal life with their correct identity, different to Loyalists like Mr. Lockton, and