The Counter-Revolution of 1776

Starred review from March 3, 2014
Horne (Negro Comrades of the Crown), Moores Professor of history and African-American studies at the University of Houston, confidently and convincingly reconstructs the origin myth of the United States grounded in the context of slavery. He examines the forces pushing colonists to rebel against London, focusing specifically on the colonies’ increasing dependence on the institution of slavery, and the increasing problems this very institution was causing for the Crown. London found itself in the middle of a losing battle as its settlers wanted an increasing number of slaves to sustain their economy while London began to recognize the dangers of slavery in the form of slave rebellions (coupled with the very real fear of escaped slaves joining the military forces of London’s Catholic enemies, France and Spain) and private slave merchants trading with these foreign countries, bypassing England. London’s increasing resistance to slavery and such free trade contributed to friction between itself and its colonies—and, ultimately, the fight for independence. Though dense, Horne’s study is rich, not dry; his research is meticulous, thorough, fascinating, and thought-provoking. Horne emphasizes the importance of considering this alternate telling of our American origin myth and how such a founding still affects our nation today.

March 1, 2014
Horne (History and African-American Studies/Univ. of Houston; Negro Comrades of the Crown: African Americans and the British Empire Fight the U.S. Before Emancipation, 2012, etc.) returns with insights about the American Revolution that fracture even more some comforting myths about the Founding Fathers. The author does not tiptoe through history's grassy fields; he swings a scythe. He helps readers see that slavery was pervasive in the American colonies--and not just in the South (Rhode Island was a major player in shipping)--and reminds us of the fierce New World competition among England, France and Spain. But beneath these basics is an aquifer of information about slave revolts and the consequent fears of slaveholders. Horne takes us around the colonies, showing that the vast numbers of Africans were setting off alarms all over. He argues that Georgia, for example, was created as a white buffer state between Spanish Florida and the Carolinas, but the white Georgians were soon unhappy: They didn't want to do the unpleasant manual labor, and their competitors--the slaveholders--had an economic advantage. As a result, slaves were soon flowing into Georgia, and Georgians soon began experiencing the same anxieties as the rest of the white colonists. As England began to move more toward ending its slave trade (not for humanitarian reasons), uneasy Americans (rich white ones) began to meet and bray about freedom and liberty, causing many, of course, to note the hypocrisy. Horne also examines the ever harsher laws passed by timorous whites against slaves who disobeyed or revolted--moves which, as the author shows, only intensified slave anger and resistance. As many as 20,000 slaves joined the Redcoats in the Revolution, and the author traces some of our lingering racism back to 1776. Clear and sometimes-passionate prose shows us the persistent nastiness underlying our founding narrative.

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