Sober Philosophy: Bacon’s Rebellion (Mark & Shamelle present on SIGNAL, AZF)

This meeting will be held on the messaging app Signal. You can download it from the App Store to install on your iPhone or Android phone. You can also use it from your computer but you must install it on your phone first as it uses your phone number as your identifier. Once you RSVP for the meeting I will send you the link for the event by Meetup message.

12-minute YouTube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_VpwQ-yTa4&t=1s

Before 1670,
the right to vote in the Virginia colony was broadly granted to all free men — meaning any free adult male who was not enslaved or indentured, regardless of race or property ownership. Nothing in Virginia law explicitly said that an English subject of African descent could not vote, testify, or own land. There were “Black Englishmen”: There were people of African descent who were:

• Born in England or its colonies,
• Baptized into the Church of England,
• Recognized as free subjects of the Crown, and thus Englishmen in the legal sense.

1670 Election of Burgesses by Whome act
“It is hereby enacted, that none but freeholders and housekeepers … shall hereafter have a voice in the election of any burgesses in this country

It shifted the franchise from “all freemen” (i.e., men not enslaved or indentured) to a narrower class of men who were property owners or heads of households. The law did not include language specifying a racial exclusion (for example, “negroes” or “mulattoes” being barred). At this stage voting rights remained racially neutral on the statute’s face.

So, many poorer colonists (including former indentured servants and some free Black men) had lost the vote they once held.

1676 Virginia demographics prior to Bacon’s Rebellion
55,000 – 60,000 Colonial population (free whites, indentured servants, free Blacks, and enslaved Africans excluding Native Americans)

50-60% Free Whites (31,000 – 43,000)

>1% Free Blacks (300-500)

20-25% White Indentured Servants (11,000 - 15,000)

1-2% Black Indentured Servants (500-1,000)

10-15% Enslaved Africans (5,000 – 7,500)

1676 August – December Bacon’s Rebellion
A rebellion of 1,000 – 2,000 frontier settlers, small farmers, indentured servants (mostly white with some blacks), and (several hundred) enslaved Africans, all frustrated by government policies regarding Native Americans and economic conditions led by Nathanial Bacon against the colonial government of Governor William Berkeley. stimates suggest that roughly one-third of the rebels were black (enslaved Africans or African-descended indentured servants), though precise numbers are uncertain. To rally support, Bacon’s faction pushed for broad political reforms, including restoring the vote to “all freemen.”

1676 June “Reform Assembly”
A session of the Virginia General Assembly convened under intense pressure from Bacon’s supporters.

• The assembly passed a series of reforms — later known as the “Bacon’s Laws” or “Reform Laws of 1676.”
• Among them was a measure that reversed the 1670 suffrage restriction, restoring the vote to all freemen rather than just property holders.

1676 October
Bacon falls ill with dysentery (or possibly typhus) and dies on October 26, 1676

1676 December
Governor William Berkeley and loyalist forces regain control over the colony. The last pockets of resistance were eliminated, and rebel leaders were executed or pardoned early in 1677.

1677 February–March “loyalist” General Assembly
The new assembly declared Bacon’s acts “null, void, and repealed.” Among those repealed was the act granting the franchise to all freemen — meaning the broader voting rights lasted less than a year.

1723 May
the General Assembly passed an act titled An Act Directing the Trial of Slaves… and for the better government of Negroes, Mulattos, and Indians, bond or free which included the clause:

“That no free negro, mullatto, or indian whatsoever, shall hereafter have any vote at the election of burgesses, or any other election whatsoever.”

This was the first explicit law in the North American colonies to exclude Black people from voting. Prior voting rights were restricted by property, servitude, or gender but not explicitly by race in the statute books (though de facto racial discrimination may have existed).

AMAZON FORMAT (AZF):
We will begin the meeting by listening to the YouTube video together on Signal. Then we will all raise our virtual Signal hands to read the historical text about the rebellion above silently separately. Each person will lower their virtual Signal hand when done reading and when all hands are down we will begin move to the Opening Rountable Format.

OPENING ROUNDTABLE FORMAT (ORF):

1. The topic presenter begins the discussion by explaining why they are interested in the topic and some introductory thoughts on it.
2. Each participant in turn going clockwise from the presenter describes their general thoughts on the topic.
3. If one is not ready to speak they can just say “pass” and the next person speaks.
4. After we've gone around once anyone who passed will get a second chance to comment.
5. Once everyone has given opening remarks or passed twice, Opening Roundtable is completed and the meeting shifts into its main format.

TIMED DIRECTION FORMAT (TDRF>5):
If there are more than 5 people present we will use the format below.

1. We will divide up the timed direction discussion time by the number of participants plus one (for a buffer). A timer will be set for this amount of time.
2. Each participant in turn will become a Discussion Director and lead the group discussion.
3. If one is not ready to direct they dimply say “pass” and the next person becomes the Discussion Director.
4. Anyone who arrives after step 1 (above), may participate but will not get a turn as Discussion Director.
5. The Discussion Director can make statements or ask questions, or interrupt or redirect the discussion at their discretion.
6. The discussion participants can state their own opinions only when asked by the Discussion Director, not Interrupt others and accede to the Discussion Director’s interruptions or redirections.
7. When the timer goes off the person speaking finishes their thought and then the next participant clockwise becomes the next Discussion Director.
8. After we've gone around once anyone who passed will get a second chance to direct.

At the end of the meeting, participants will have an opportunity to vote on the topic and format for the following meeting.