The American Revolution and the founding of the United States were a catalyst in opening up new opportunities for African Americans as, before this, they were treated as mere boosts to the economy. Thomas Paine’s common sense argued for African Americans as slavery denied their natural rights,the revolution marked the time of equality and liberty for the masses, and Benjamin Banneker’s letter to Thomas Jefferson marked a time of enlightenment and pursuit of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Thomas Paine’s common sense passionately advocated for independence from Great Britain and pushed for enlightenment ideas. Millions of African Americans pre American Revolution were subjected to slavery as a sort of necessary evil with their owners having a conscious awareness of how brutally sadistic and unethical slavery is yet still used slaves as a means for economic gain. Paine states “Ye that dare oppose, not only with tyranny, but the tyrant, stand forth!” intrinsically provoking a sense of opposing oppression and fighting for long overdue justice and equality in all parts of the world. Common sense marked a pursuit of liberty for African Americans, persuading
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Phillis Wheatley stated slavery was antithetical to the revolution whilst Thomas Dickinson believed taxation without representation was a form of slavery. Moreover, Wheatley was an enslaved African American during this time and Dickinson was not, making his argument superficial in the truest sense as some of the grievances against the king were in the Declaration of Independence, yet Wheatly represents everything the enlightenment was trying to be, “an assertion of the right of revolution”. Radicalization during the revolution raised concepts of liberty, tyranny, slavery, and a dynamic with a potent force in American life, the rhetoric and principles led to