African Americans and the Revolution

In reading Woody Holton's "Unruly Americans in the Revolution", I was particularly intrigued by the effect of the Revolution on the slaves of early America. Holton describes that "for African Americans the outcome of the Revolutionary War was more complex" (pg. 4). Some of the slaves were freed because they agreed to fight for the British. On the other hand, many new slaves were shipped to America as the cotton gin allowed for the vast expansion of slavery. I think that on thing can be clearly established about early African Americans - they were not in control of their own lives. Whether they were promised freedom by the Loyalists or forced to work on plantations or even used as bargaining chips, African Americans were not free. Moreover, the slaves who were freed upon the ending of the Revolutionary War were lost. They literally had nowhere to go. Some returned to Africa, others emigrated to Australia. Indeed the Revolutionary War had a complicated effect on the lives of African Americans.