As part of their liberty, Americans called for more religious freedom.
Before the war, some laws discriminated against certain religions. Some
states had not allowed Jews or Catholics to hold public office. After the
war, states began to abolish those laws. They also ended the practice of
using tax money to support churches.
Many people began to see a conflict between slavery and the ideal of
liberty. Vermont outlawed slavery, and Pennsylvania passed a law to free
slaves gradually. Individual African Americans also tried to end slav-
ery. For example, Eliz
abeth Freeman
sued for her freedom in a
Massachusetts court and won. Her victory in 1781 and other sim-
ilar cases ended slavery in that state. Freeman later described her
desire for freedom.
A VOICE FROM THE PAST
Anytime while I was a slave, if one minute’s freedom had been
offered to me, and I had been told I must die at the end of that
minute, I would have taken it—just to stand one minute on God’s
earth a free woman.
Elizabeth Freeman, quoted in Notable Black American Women
With freedom, African Americans began to form their own institu-
tions. For example, the preacher Ric
hard Allen helped start the Free
African Society. That society encouraged African Americans to help
each other. Allen also founded the African Methodist Episcopal
Church, the first African-American church in the United States.
Perhaps the main issue facing Americans after the war was how to
shape their national government. American anger over British taxes,
violation of rights, and control of trade had caused the war. Now the
United States needed a government that would protect citizens’ rights
and economic freedom. In Chapter 8, you will read how U.S. leaders
worked to create such a government.
The American Revolution 199
2. Taking Notes
Use a chart like the one
below to classify the terms of
the Treaty of Paris according
to which side they favored.
(Do not list terms that don’t
favor either side.)
3. Main Ideas
a. What advantages helped
the Americans win the
Revolutionary War?
b. How did the end of the
war affect Loyalists?
c. What were the economic
costs of the war to individu-
als and to the government?
4. Critical Thinking
Recognizing Effects How
did republicanism shape the
United States after the war?
THINK ABOUT
• American ideas about
government
• the roles men and women
could play in public life
• religious freedom
• the antislavery movement
1. Terms & Names
Explain the
significance of:
• Treaty of Paris
of 1783
• republicanism
• Elizabeth Freeman
• Richard Allen
Section Assessment
ACTIVITY OPTIONS
SPEECH
MATH
Look up the U.S. population in 1780. Calculate what percentage of American
people died in the war. Report your findings in a speech or a pie graph.
Terms of the Treaty of Paris
Favorable to Favorable to
America Britain
4
Background
Only Northern
states ended slav-
ery after the war.
In the North, slav-
ery was not as
important a part
of the economy
as in the South.
C. Solving
Problems How
did free African
Americans take
on the responsi-
bility of trying to
improve their
lives?
C. Possible
Response They
began self-help
organizations and
African-American
churches.
Elizabeth Freeman
fought a court
case that helped
end slavery in
Massachusetts.