Question

Primary Source Document 3: Petition from Enslaved Peoples to Council and House of Representatives for the State of Massachusetts-Bay in General Court assembled January 13th 1777.
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The Petition of a great number of Negroes who are detained in a state of Slavery in the Bowels of a free and Christian Country Humbly ask:
That your Petitioners apprehend that negroes have, in common with all other Men, a natural and unalienable right to that freedom, which the great Parent of the Universe hath bestowed equally on all Mankind, and which they have never forfeited by any compact or agreement whatever—But they were unjustly dragged, by the cruel hand of Power, from their dearest friends, and some of them even torn from the embraces of their tender Parents, from a populous, pleasant and plentiful Country—and in Violation of the Laws of Nature and of Nation and in defiance of all the tender feelings of humanity, brought here to be sold like Beasts of Burden, and like them condemned to slavery for Life...
Your Honors need not to be informed that a Life of Slavery, like that of your petitioners, deprived of every social privilege, of every thing requisite to render Life even tolerable, is far worse than Non-Existence….They cannot but express their astonishment, that it has never been considered, that every principle from which America has acted in the course of her unhappy difficulties with Great-Britain, pleads stronger than a thousand arguments in favor of your Petitioners.
They therefore humbly beseech your Honors, to give this Petition its due weight and consideration, and cause an Act of the Legislature to be passed, whereby they may be restored to the enjoyment of that freedom which is the natural right of all Men—and their Children (who were born in this Land of Liberty) may not be held as Slaves after they arrive at the age of twenty one years.

Analysis Questions

Sourcing and Contextualization: Who wrote this? Was it written before or after the Declaration of Independence?
Massachusetts General Court and before.


Analysis: Where do you see the influence of the Declaration of Independence in this document? Cite the line numbers to support your claims.



Analysis: From the excerpt of this primary source, what do you infer was the general stance or position of Americans towards enslaved peoples immediately after independence?



Analysis: When the Declaration of Independence was written, the first few lines written by the founding fathers read: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are equal…”. Based on this document above, do you think the founding fathers and Americans at this time included enslaved peoples in the general category of “men”? Why or why not?

Answer 1

Answer:

hello

Explanation:

good morning my all friendz