Portfolio: Essay# 1 Bacon's Rebellion

In 1676, a man named Nathaniel Bacon led a rebellion known as Bacon’s Rebellion. By the end of the rebellion, many Natives lives had been lost. According to Howard Zinn, Bacon’s Rebellion “was not a war of American colonists against the British. Instead, Bacon’s Rebellion was an uprising of angry, poor colonists against two groups they saw as their enemies. One was the Indians. The other was the colonists’ own rich and privileged leaders.”(A Young People’s History of the United States Pg. 35) Although many people will probably disagree with me, I believe that Nathaniel Bacon’s actions of killing the Natives were not justified by his motivations. Bacon should have handled his issues in a way other than killing the Natives. He was only acting like a little child not getting his way. After the government declined Nathaniel Bacons request to fight back against the Native Americans, he wrote a Declaration discussing his reasons for siding with the colonists and his reasons for rebelling. Bacon talked about Governor William Berkeley and the government. They had apparently unjustly taxed the poor colonists and farmers. Native Americans were attacking the colonists and the government was siding with the Natives by not protecting the farmers. Because Nathaniel Bacon’s heart was in the wrong place, his reasons were nullified.

The reasons for the rebellion were simple. Nathaniel Bacon was practically handed the opportunity to take charge over the poor farmers. Wilcomb E. Washburn states that Governor Berkeley thought that, “Indian attacks on the frontier, economic depression, bad weather, high taxes—all created discontent and desire for relief” (Sir William Berkeley’s “A History Of Our Miseries” Edited by Wilcomb E. Washburn Pg. 1). Berkeley is saying because the farmers were having issues with the government and the weather, they were looking for relief anywhere they could find it. These were the reasons Bacon was able to take control over the poor farmers. The farmers were looking for something or someone to help them get out of their distress. Nathaniel Bacon took advantage of the farmers mess and turned it into his profit. My point is, without these excuses Bacon would have no way to fight back against the government and the Natives.

Furthermore, when the colonies began searching for more land, they started taking over the Natives’ land. In The American Promise: A History of the United States, it says “In their quest for land, they pushed beyond the treaty limits of English settlement and encroached steadily on Indian Land.”(The American Promise: A History of the United States Pg. 91) Obviously, the Natives were not happy with the arrangement. The Natives began fighting with the colonists for their land back. Colonists became upset when the government would not give them weapons to fight back. Once, Rev. Robert Gray said “By what right or warrant we can enter into the land of these Savages, take away their rightful inheritance from them and plant ourselves in their places, being unwronged or unprovoked by them.”(Empire’s of the Atlantic World Britain and Spain in America. Pg. 11) Gray was saying that the colonists had no right to take the Natives land. Gray’s statement is correct. The government should have given the farmers weapons to protect themselves, but on the other hand, the government should not have let the farmers move onto the Natives land in the first place. At this point, the poor colonists were already upset with the government and ready to trust anyone who was willing to be on their side to get the respect they deserved. I think that Bacon was ready to lead them and knew it would be a good way to get at the Natives.

Obviously, Bacon took advantage of the poor colonists. Because Bacon treated the colonists like he was on their side, they elected him into the House of Burgesses, which was the first governmental system in Virginia. Telling the colonists that he wanted to help them fight back against the natives, Bacon found their trust. “Bacon owned a good bit of land. He probably cared more about fighting Indians than about helping the poor. Still, the common people of Virginia felt that he was on their side.” –Howard Zinn (A Young People’s History of the United States) A few years prior, one of Bacon’s friends had been killed by the Natives. This gave Bacon an inside reason to want to fight the Natives. Even though he told the colonists he was only trying to help them, He wanted only to avenge his friend. I think that even though Nathaniel Bacon showed his good intentions to the colonists, all he really wanted to do was get back at the Natives for his friend.

Undoubtedly, the colonists had been treated badly by the government not only by them siding with the Natives but by taxing the poor for the governments own good. In his declaration, Bacon says “Great unjust taxes upon the commonalty for the advancement of private favorites and other sinister ends, but no visible effects in any measure adequate.”5The government is the target of this part of the declaration. Bacon is saying that the government is taxing the poor, without giving anything back to the colonists. Even though the issues of taxes are an important part of government, I don’t believe it has anything to do with the Native Americans. Therefore, Bacon had no reason to go to war against them.

William Berkeley did not approve Bacon’s request to fight the Natives. “so he begged of the Governor for a commission in several letters to him, that he might go out against them, but he would not grant one, so daily more mischief done by them, so your brother not able to endure any longer, he went out without commission”, wrote Elizabeth Bacon-Nathaniel Bacon’s wife- in a letter to Bacon’s sister back in England. Finally, Bacon had had enough of the government not letting him do what he wanted with the Natives. Without government consent, Bacon and the colonists rebelled. Sadly, Bacon died suddenly never getting to finish his movement. But the rebel had no lasting effects, proving even more my point that Bacon was only being selfish and his actions of killing the Natives were not justifiable.










Sources:
1. A Young People’s History of the United States. Volume One: Columbus to the Spanish-American War. By: Howard Zinn, Adapted by Rebecca Stefoff.
2. Sir William Berkeley’s “A History Of Our Miseries” Edited by Wilcomb E. Washburn
URL: http://www.jstor.org/pss/1915651
3. The American Promise: A History of the United States
4. Empire’s of the Atlantic World Britain and Spain in America. By: John Huxtable Elliot
URL: http://books.google.com/books?id=mkJwZGbwkqsC
5. Nathaniel Bacon’s Declaration
6. Document #9. Letter by: Elizabeth Bacon