Answer: Tantalizing possibilities were considered, some actual
freedoms were gained, and then slave-holding reality returned in
force. This statement is supported by the experiences of a number
of African-Americans on the Revolutionary side of the conflict,
some of whom were freed and acted as free men in the military
forces of the patriot army. It is also supported by those
African-Americans who were freed by the British in return for
services to be rendered against the patriot forces. It is finally
supported by the general return to slave-holding practices
throughout America at the war's conclusion.
