History
Burns Reveals 20,000 African Americans Fought in Revolution, Most for British
The Rest Is History
The American Revolution’s Biggest Myth With Ken Burns
What was said
"Around 20,000 African-Americans fought in the American Revolution, 15 for the British and five for the Americans."
Ken Burns reveals that approximately 20,000 Black soldiers participated in the Revolutionary War, with 15,000 fighting for the British versus 5,000 for the Americans. This statistic reflects Lord Dunmore's 1775 proclamation offering freedom to enslaved people who joined British forces, which Burns notes only applied to rebels' slaves, not loyalists'. The filmmaker emphasizes enslaved people made pragmatic decisions based on their best chance at freedom, not ideology.
Verification status
Attributed speaker claim
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- Programme
- The Rest Is History
- Episode
- The American Revolution’s Biggest Myth With Ken Burns
- Clip time
- 21:07
- Original source
- Watch the source segment →
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