Bacon's Rebellion Essay Outline

Thesis: The true victims of Bacon's Rebellion were the Indians.

I. The natives were the victims. (they say)

--A. How were the natives the victims?

-----1. The colonists were the instigators of this event, and they cannot blame the Indians for their retaliation. (what I say)

-------------a. The white men broke the treaty that ended the Indian surprise attacks in

1644. (American Promise, page 91)

-------------a. What the treaty was, “the treaty that concluded…for Indian use” (AP pg 91)

-------------a. May have worked but Chesapeake population continued to grow and they wandered outside of their land, causing the Indians to attack.

-------------a. White mans fault for beginning the entire thing, most of the people responsible were recently freed indentured servants, who were most of bacon’s followers.

-----2. Not all the Indians killed were the guilty ones, Bacon broke the peace that was established with some tribes by killing innocent Indians and not caring about who he killed as long as they were Indians. (what I say)

-------------a. Bacon killed any Indian that he saw, not caring who they were and what relations they had to them.

--------------------------i. “bacon had got over…one nation from another” (#13)

--------------------------i. “so the common cry…we will spare none” (#13)

-------------a. “Nathaniel bacon … for frontier indian attacks.” (jstor)

-------------a. “governor william berkeley believe that a more cautious policy…into Indian lands” (jstor)

--------------------------i. jstor:http://moe.ic.highline.edu:2117/stable/2954992?&Search=yes&term=%22bacons+rebellion%22&term=indians&term=innocent&list=hide&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoAdvancedSearch%3Fq0%3D%2522bacons%2Brebellion%2522%2Binnocent%2Bindians%26f0%3Dall%26c0%3DAND%26q1%3D%26f1%3Dall%26c1%3DAND%26q2%3D%26f2%3Dall%26c2%3DAND%26q3%3D%26f3%3Dall%26wc%3Don%26Search%3DSearch%26sd%3D%26ed%3D%26la%3D%26jo%3D&item=2&ttl=22&returnArticleService=showArticle

II. The natives were not the victims. (they say)

--A. How were the colonists the victims?

------1. The Indians were barbarous and murdered many English which caused them to deserve to be killed because Berkeley was taking no action. (what I say)

-------------a. “before ever mr. bacon…no course was taken to secure them” (#14)

-------------a. Bacon and the people felt that Berkeley was not ruling for the general good, justified to rebel.

i. “when rules violated that precept…justified in rebelling.” (AP pg 90)

-------------a. “this made the people…indians than them” ( #16)

--------------------------i. this point in time Indians aren’t as important as colonists so when they are getting more attention than colonists, there has to be a problem.

------2. Local settlers had no voice in where their taxes went or what taxes were being passed and this was a factor in Bacon’s Rebellion. (what I say)

-------------a. “we most humbly pray…small number of privileged people.” (#19)

--------------------------i. people have every right to know about why they are being taxed, they did not get this right which is justifies their want for rebellion.

-------------a. Most of bacons supporters were the poor who wanted more land, they were the most heavily taxed and Berkeley didn’t really pay attention to their needs.

--------------------------i. They took things into their own hands, thought they were getting ripped off in a way.

--------------------------i. Elected people they wanted into burgesses. (PA pg 92)

-------------a. This was so they would be represented in burgess so they could have a say in issues such as taxes.

-------------a. Led to some power than Bacon had to start his rebellion, he had more people on his side than Berkeley.

III. The natives were the victims, and they were attacked under corrupt pretenses. (I say)

------1. I agree that the Indians were truly the victims of this rebellion, a point that needs emphasizing since so many people believe that the Indians were not victims at all because they deserved to be killed as a punishment for their ruthless killing of hundreds of Englishmen.

-------------a. “and how that one Mathews…they took his hogs for satisfaction” (#2)

--------------------------i. two can play this game, if they (white men) cheat the Indians, should they not expect that there will be some retaliation or some kind of actions to get even with the white men?

--------------------------i. “might makes right”. White initially have more power over the natives, but that does not really make them right.