The Forgotten Fifth

by Gary Nash

 

A Book Review by Brandon J. Sethi

March 2009

 

            The African-American contribution during the Revolutionary War has largely been ignored in most history books, ignoring the fact that African-Americans composed nearly twenty percent of the colonial population.  Exploring the contribution made by blacks during the war against Britain is a complicated task as all blacks- -free and enslaved alike- -were faced with a quandary regarding which side to choose during the war.  In The Forgotten Fifth, Gary Nash eloquently explains how many blacks arrived at their decision and the resonating impact felt throughout history.  Furthermore, when one studies the era, the most widespread paradigm is clear that freeing the slaves simply was not an option of the time.  Nash by and large debunks this myth of American History.  Throughout the text, Nash engages the reader in exploring the underlying causes that perpetuated slavery through the Revolutionary War and beyond in spite of the prejudiced rhetoric of the time period touting “all men are created equal”.

 

            The traditional way of viewing the Founding Fathers as altruistic and liberty for all minded men is thoroughly exposed by Gary B. Nash in his book The Forgotten Fifth: African Americans in the Revolutionary War.  By using the very words of the Fathers themselves for the foundation of his research, the reader is assured that the bias in the book- -while present- -is not without merit.  One is clear from the outset that Nash has a bone to pick with the Fathers for not using their immense political capital in a way to do what they knew to be morally sound, that is, to free the slaves. 

 

            From the books preface, the author is clear that his mission is to write a missing portion of history.  His intent he says, is not to “destabilize history but rather to bring attention to those forgotten Americans who have inarguably been a part in constructing our society and our nation” (Nash, vii). Nash clearly expresses his book’s intent that history didn’t have to happen the way it did but rather it happened due to a lack of courage.  The reader goes through a growing escalation of pain seeing time after time of the Founders letting slavery persist.

 

            The book The Forgotten Fifth is based on a series of talks that Nash gave at Harvard University as part of the Nathan L. Huggins Lecture.[1]  In the first chapter Nash explores the African-American experience during the American Revolution and which side blacks were choosing to fight and why.  In the second part he attempts to justify his reasoning that slavery could have in fact been abolished had the founding fathers wanted to do so.  In part three he looks at black citizenship in colonial America and the resistance to bestowing that privilege upon blacks coming from the ‘master class’.  The book is arranged chronologically and flows very well.  It reads a bit academic at points and one must be careful to stay with the historical figures in question or they may find themselves lost.  However, the book tells the story it’s intended to tell. 

 

            The second part of the text is perhaps the most informative and most powerful.  We are confronted with Washington’s choice to help establish in conjunction with French nobleman Marquis de Lafayette in establishing a free black colony in French New Guiana.  Washington chooses not to partake in such an experiment and places the blame squarely on “”the minds of the people of this country” who would not tolerate Lafayette’s “benevolence” and “humanity” (Nash 103).  Excuse after excuse is perpetuated by the Fathers in an effort to preserve their riches and demonstrating an extreme sense of shortsightedness that freeing their slaves would tarnish their reputations and damage their vast political capital.  The theme of power and its effect on the early leaders is examined at great length and deeply frustrates the reader. 

 

            The scholarly basis for the work is well rooted in clear and extensive footnotes.  These footnotes cover a wide variety of sources ranging from other scholarly work to primary sources from the time period in question.  The primary sources are even more intriguing as he gives the reader an incredible amount of depth behind the text.  We are given an in-depth look into the background of the particular character in history, which helps to contextualize the quotes.  A reader can comfortably trust that they are being presented with both relevant and accurate information.  

 

            Gary Nash is an accomplished American historian out of UCLA and has written numerous books on the subject of early colonial history adding additional credibility to this his most recent book.  Further, he has also written extensively on race in America especially focused on colonial cities and has been doing so for nearly forty years.[2]  Throughout his career he has shown a commitment to telling history as it is meant to be told and not as J. H. Plumb put it, confirmatory history where the intent is to tell a “narration of events of particular people, nations or communities in order to justify authority, create confidence and to secure authority” (Nash, vii). Also interesting is his role as a leader in drafting and revising the National History Standards for education in 1994 and again in 1996.  His influence is widespread throughout the field of history. 

 

            Any teacher who uses this information from this book can use it to really make their classroom content much more multicultural so that we can better engage our diverse student populations. We are introduced to interesting and challenging characters that we do not learn about in the average textbook that our students can identify with and relate to.  The Founding Fathers, from Washington to Jefferson and beyond are taken off their pedestals and shown to be human men with selfish interests.  It would be an interesting case study to examine Jefferson and his refusal to free his slaves.  Common knowledge in history says that Jefferson couldn’t afford to free his slaved due to the immense debt he found himself in yet Nash exposes this as near fraud.  Jefferson was offered $17,000 through the will of Polish military engineer, General Thaddeus Kosciuszko, to “free as many of the slaves as money would purchase….which at $200 dollars per slave, an average price in 1824, Jefferson could have freed more than 80 of the approximately 230 slaves he owned at the time” (Nash, 107-08) Jefferson turned down the money and chooses instead of executing the will as he had agreed to do; he let it go into the federal courts. 

 

            Beyond that, one could study what kind of man was Jefferson for his hypocritical moral views on the issue of slavery when he had devoted so much of his life to fighting for liberty.  Also, to examine the moral attitudes of the time coupled with the rapidly growing Christian element found within the country.  Also at stake is the issue of is it fair to judge people in the past with the eyes of our current society, also known as presentism.  Howard Zinn has argued that “basic moral standards are not different for the twentieth century or the fifteenth century… Don’t lay out history on a platter and say “I don’t care what you choose, they’re both valid” I say, “I do care what you choose; I don’t think both sides are valid”.[3] 

 

            Overall, this book is an excellent read and I would recommend it to anyone interested furthering his or her understanding of Revolutionary America.  The reader is brought to a deep understanding of how slavery was allowed to persist in a society that seemed to carry a collective consciousness that what it was doing was wrong.  The excuses and rationales established to keep slavery alive has been shown by Nash to be nothing more than empty rhetoric.  Through original research and in-depth detail we learn that American history didn’t have to quite play out the way it did.  The reader is left with the questions of what might have been and how could American society today potentially be different. 


[1] Nash, Gary. The Forgotten Fifth: African Americans in the Revolutionary War.  Harvard University Press 2006.  Vii.

[2] “Gary B. Nash”, 18 March, 09. http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/history/facultyplain.php?lid=953&display_one=1

[3] Zinn, Howard.  Howard Zinn on Democratic Education.  Paradigm Publishers.  2005.  P.  193.