The Refusal of Black Loyalists’ Claims: A Rhetoric of Disempowerment

Despite broad interest in Black Loyalists who fought for the British during the American Revolution, little has been done to understand the British court decisions that undermined their claims for compensation for their service to Great Britian. This article takes up these court decisions to understand the rhetoric of disempowerment promoted by the British court by analyzing the rhetorical strategies used to deny Black Loyalists compensation. In so doing, the article expands our understanding of Black life in the 18th Century, as well as the strategies used in official rhetorics by courts. Through strategies of depersonalization and distancing, the British court committed additional violence to Black people yearning for freedom in the Revolutionary Era.