The American Revolution changed opportunities for those African Americans who served in the Continental Army and were given their freedom as well as the chance to become US citizens. Many slaves joined the Patriot or British armies in order to gain their freedom. Slaves, who were promised the possibility of receiving a bounty, were recruited to fight on both sides of the Revolution. Bounties were either monetary payments or the chance to gain freedom. More than 9000 African American soldiers fought on the Patriot side for the Continental Army and Navy. At the time of the War for Independence, slavery was practiced in all thirteen colonies in the US. As a result of black heroism and loyalty to the American cause, many states outlawed slavery after the war. Besides, in 1799, George Washington expressed his thought against the institution of slavery by supporting the principle “that all men -including African Americans- are created equal.”
