History books have painted a narrative of the U.S. founding that any student can recite: Colonists, straining against the tyranny of the British crown, revolted in the name of freedom, liberty and justice for all. But in recent years, historians have revisited that conventional story, examining the important role slaves played for Britain in its quest to quell colonists. Now, in a new book, historian Gerald Horne argues it was the desire to maintain slavery that was the prime motivator of the uprising. Kojo and Horne revisit the period leading up to 1776 to find out how slavery in North America and the British colonies influenced the revolution.
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Excerpted from "The Counter-Revolution of 1776: Slave Resistance and the Origins of the United States of America" by Gerald Horne. Reprinted with permission from NYU Press. All Rights Reserved.
The Counter-Revolution of 1776