Bacon's Rebellion Essay Final Draft

The making of America was not as simple as people coming here and settling down. There were natives that had already claimed the land for themselves. Bacon's rebellion is all about ownership. Who has the right to what land. All of this caused confusion and frustration for the colonists in the Chesapeake. When the confusion and frustration provided no solution the poor, landless farmers chose to rebel. The rebellion and the conflict leading up to the rebellion influenced Chesapeake society even if it wasn’t as major of an event as the American Revolution.

Bacon’s rebellion was brought on by the differences in the classes of the Chesapeake colonies. Until mid-century, classes were not separated by how much money you had, but by whether you were free or not. Towards the later half of the century, three changes in the economy occurred that changed the social classes. First, tobacco prices decreased because so much of it was being exported that it became less of a luxury. This made it harder for freed servants to save up enough money to buy their own land. Second, the mortality rate in the Chesapeake lowered, so more servants survived their indentures, leading to more free landless men. Finally, since the mortality rate was declining, planters lived longer so they had more time to make money and become wealthier. This created a planters elite (3). I agree that this would cause a gap in society. When the poor are not getting money as fast and the rich are getting more money faster then it makes sense that that would cause a gap. But I don’t think money was the only reason that the two social classes grew farther apart. I think it was also their view on the Native Americans. Since the two classes had different ideas about the Indians it pushed them apart even more. Because people with the same views and opinions, generally, clump together.

The Native Americans were a great ally to the colonists and they should have kept their friendship with them at all costs. To try and do this “William Berkeley, the colonial governor, hewed to a policy that honored alliances with friendly tribes, which in turn acted as buffers and allies against the hostile tribes” (2). This statement makes a good point in saying that the friendly tribes would protect them from the hostile tribes. Since the colonists had had other attacks by Indians this was a smart idea. The friendly tribes could communicate with the hostile tribes for the colonists or they could help them if the hostile tribes ever attacked. But the lower class failed to see the protection that this friendship would bring because they were too worried about finding land to buy and settle on. The elite farmers did not care so much about the little amount of land available because they already had their land and were making a good profit off of it (2). It was the landless farmers that were trying to find land to buy and could not find it because of Berkeley’s loyalties to the Native Americans (4). Because of this, the lower class thought that the elite farmers were operating the government for their own gain because they did not do anything about the lessening amount of free land on the western frontier (4). I believe the landless farmers have a right to be angry because the elite were operating in a way that only benefited them personally. The friendship with the Native Americans was going good for the elite farmers so they were okay with it and did not plan to change it. But I also believe that the landless farmers took it a little too far with the rebellion, even if they did get their point across. In the end Governor Berkeley and the elite had to choose “the lesser of two evils”. This situation enraged the Chesapeake’s lower class which caused the rebellion. When the rebels started looking for a leader that would support their views, “Nathaniel Bacon embraced the opportunity to elevate his local standing and agreed to lead volunteer militia units” (2). This seems unusual that Bacon would choose to be the leader of this rebellion when he was the cousin of Governor Berkeley by marriage and was not in the lower class of the landless farmers and freed servants (2). He was welcomed into the elite society when he arrived in Virginia in 1674 (2). So it is strange that Bacon would choose to lead the lower class against the upper class when he was originally in the upper class. And much less so that he could increase his local standing with the people. Leading a rebellion does not seem like the way to make you really popular in society accept maybe with the rebels. But now Nathaniel Bacon is famous for what is considered his rebellion which is really a battle between rich and poor.

Bacon’s rebellion really pushed the switch from indentured servants to African slaves. Although the grandees still remained in power of the council, the tension between the two classes lessened, but the tensions between races increased (3). Some believe this is because after the rebellion, most planters and land owners made the switch to African slaves instead of indentured servants (2). I agree with this statement because after Bacon’s rebellion I would understand why farmers would not want indentured servants because they would be afraid of them rebelling or causing trouble once their indentures were over. So with the increase of African slaves that created a new lower class. Berkeley and the elite society realized that keeping a friendly relationship with their fellow white men was more important than their relationships with the Native Americans (3). This was a smart decision on their part because there were not as many of the natives and the farmers were not going to be shoved aside. Also, if they were trying to build a colony then they’re going to want to expand so they’re going to want those farmers to find land so that they can expand their colony.

There are still situations like this today. At first, the elite sided with the Indians because they benefited more since they were able to trade with them and for protection against hostile tribes (3). Just like today the bigger companies are hiring more immigrants because it benefits them since they can do the same amount of labor and the same quality for cheaper than if they hired the average American citizen. This is because the immigrants will accept the lower paying jobs.

The lack of land and the problem of ownership caused Bacon's rebellion. The landless farmers wanted land so that they could make money of their own and settle down. Governor Berkeley and the elite farmers wanted to keep their relationship with the Indians for trade and protection, but also wanted to keep their relationship with the poorer, lower class. The landless farmers wanted a decision so they decided to act. Bacon's rebellion changed Chesapeake society. The differences between the classes decreased and the differences between races increased as more African slaves were sold instead of indentured servants. Bacon's rebellion was very influential even if it was not as major as the American Revolution or other rebellions in history.

(1) http://caho-test.cc.columbia.edu/sim/15005.html
(2) http://www.bookrags.com/research/bacons-rebellion-aaw-01/
(3) The American Promise