Historical segregation : slavery at public history sites of the Revolutionary War era

Abstract

Slavery is quite possibly the most integral issue to understanding the history of the United States. The lingering effects of the inequitable institution of slavery can still be keenly experienced to this day. In the classroom, Americans learn about their country's historic attachment to slavery typically when discussing the Civil War; however, slavery is often glossed over in favor of patriotic storytelling when learning about the Revolutionary War. This omission prevents clear understanding of the origins of the Civil War and modem day racial tensions; the history of African Americans in the United States cannot be fully understood without appreciating the sober reality of the freedom denied to them following the Revolutionary War. If the history of slavery during the Revolutionary Era is largely ignored in the classroom, how well have public history sites addressed the complex subject? Among the most popular sites of the Revolutionary Era are Colonial Williamsburg, the homes and the National Mall memorials of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, and the iconic Liberty Bell. I analyze the histories of these nationally renowned sites to determine how openly they have addressed the paradoxical relationship between the American colonists' fight for their own freedom while simultaneously holding slaves in chains.