Bacon's Rebellion In The American Colonies

From the American Revolution to the 1950s, the most common understanding of Bacon's Rebellion was that it was a precursor of the American Revolution, a premature revolt against British tyranny that represented but a temporary setback for American liberty. American revolution, in no way, can it ever be compared it Bacon’s rebellion. The key concepts American revolution was liberty and democracy -- which there was none found in Bacon’s rebellion.

Bacon’s Rebellion was a historical event that demonstrated Nathaniel Bacon being a hero and left many short and long-term effects on the nation. Bacon’s rebellion happened in 1676 in Virginia in a time of unrest between the colonists and the Native Americans that lived there. Bacon rebellion was between Nathaniel Bacon and Governor William Berkeley. As stated in Bacon’s Rebellion by Jill Kauffman, it was over the “Indian policy on the colony’s frontier.” (1) Bacon had many reasons to lead a rebellion against Governor William Berkeley.

The colonists were taking the Native American's property and taking advantage of the native Americans in the trade by getting them drunk so they could get more land. King Philip, the religious leader the Native Americans.

Under the control of the British Parliament in 1775, the American colonies consider going to war in order to gain independence from Britain. In “Patrick Henry’s Speech in the Virginia Convention,” Henry addresses the need for American colonists to work together to stop the British from controlling them. Thus, Henry’s periodic sentence, rhetorical questions, antithesis, and anaphora successfully convince the American colonists to unite against the British and to bring awareness to their wrongdoings. Firstly, Henry applies periodic sentences and rhetorical questions to convey the idea that the American Colonists must fight back against the British by working together if they want to gain freedom. Henry believes that “if [they] wish to

Howard Zinn discussed the actuality of Colonial America, in which the wealthy handled poor whites, black slaves, and Native Americans as undesirables. Zinn’s thesis was the idea of plutocracy, government by the wealthy, controlling American society. Class lines hardened, distinctions between rich and poor became sharper. Wealth equated to power, slaves, and estate subsequently, fortifying their superiority over the disadvantaged. This inequality of wealth and power caused disapprobation among the impoverished populace and defiances such as Bacon’s Rebellion undertook.

In July 1676, Bacon issued the Declaration of the People of Virginia, a list of complaints against Berkeley. Berkeley tried to rally public support by holding new assembly elections and extending the vote to all freemen, but the new assembly went against the governor, instead passing laws to make government more responsive to the common people and to end greedy office holding (Nash 59). In September 1676, Bacon’s men drove the governor and his supporters across Chesapeake Bay to refuge on the eastern shore and burned Jamestown to the ground to discourage their return. A few weeks later, Bacon suddenly died of dysentery, leaving the movement leaderless. Soon thereafter, an English naval squadron arrived to restore order (Garraty 43).

“We must defend ourselves against all Indians in general, for they are all enemies” Bacon proclaimed to a crowd of poor, working class Virginians. In the summer of 1676, Nathaniel Bacon led a group of men through Native American territory in protest of the unfair land policies in Virginia. Tobacco was a major crop in Virginia, and because it was tough on soil there was not much fertile land in the colony. Consequently, the shortage of fertile land made it hard for planters to profit from tobacco, and forced the citizens into poverty. As Virginians continued to struggle in poverty, Bacon commenced his anti- Native American campaign.

Likewise, in Bacon’s Rebellion in 1676, unruly frontiersmen rebelled against the wealthy governor William Berkeley, showing friction between impoverished frontiersmen and the wealthy, plantation-owning gentry. In both instances, the lower class initiated the uprisings because of their discontent with those who governed them. It is important to note, though, that in the Pueblo Revolt the tensions were between people indigenous to the land and those who came to colonize the land whereas in Bacon’s Rebellion the tensions were mostly between colonists. Both events were struggles between those who govern and their subordinates, but the backgrounds and precursors to these instances of friction

Nathaniel Bacon considered the Native Americans to be enemies and dangerous, so he wanted to take them out, which meant going against the government. It was not very hard for Bacon to get an army together. He was a very persuasive man when it came to getting what he

The militia was comprised of farmers who preferred the option of a war of massacre over being hurt by low tobacco prices and high taxes. The fight against Native Americans initiated in 1676, and encountered solely nonviolent Indians, but the group slaughtered them regardless. Bacon and his supporters demanded the power to declare war against all Native Americans, and received such authority from a daunted Governor Berkeley. Shortly after, Berkeley reconsidered his decision and called back the troop, but Bacon’s men retaliated by burning the capital of Jamestown and spared whoever joined the rebellion. However, in late 1676 Bacon died of dysentery; his cohorts dispersed and their actions

America colonists had been wanting their independence for many years. The British have taken control of the colonies. The colonists fight back against the British. Two examples of how the British control the colonists are through the Proclamation of 1763 and in the Boston Massacre.

Great question! I get the impression that Bacon was a spoiled brat who wanted to become powerful and rich. It appears that he wanted to increase his wealth with more land and the only way he could acquire this land was to eradicate the Indians. I assume that he resented the fact that Berkeley never fully accepted him into the elite inner circle. Bacon decided the way to gain power and to change the laws for his own advantage was to remove Berkeley and his supporters.

In Zinn 's book, Nathaniel Bacon is described as a manipulative man, who persuaded the gullible to agree with his ideas and values. The rebellion itself was because Bacon hated both the elite and the indians, and after he was released from prison for being a rebel, he took his 'army ' and began attacking innocent indians. After Bacon had died, Zinn includes the fact that the anti-rebel forces tricked Bacon 's militia into thinking that if they surrendered, the slaves and servants (who made up most of the rebels) would be given freedom. Instead, they took them back to their masters. The governemt strived to stop the rebellion for two reasons: to make a policy to control indians, and to discourage rebellion in the future.

One of the more well-known and documented acts of political violence started in the colonial era when “Nathaniel Bacon and a sizable number of Virginians rose up in armed rebellion against the royal governor of the colony in 1676.” (Britanica) It was the result of Bacon and the then Gov. Berkeley having two different viewpoints about Indians and colony expansion. Berkeley did not want to remove the Indians for fear of war with the Indians as well as trade being interrupted. Berkeley eventually “launched military expeditions against Bacon” (Britanica) and his colonialists.

Like many Africans, the Irish and Germans involuntarily became servants, as they were also kidnapped. The black and the whites shared a number of similarities, such as exploitation and abuse. Causing a sense between the two. Escaping together, and rebelling against their masters. Accordingly, Bacon’s Rebellion occurred in Virginia.