property, the net result of the statute was still an expanded free black population. Prominent Virginians such as George Washington and Robert Carter freed significant numbers of slaves, and the free black population in the commonwealth rose from an estimated 2,000 in 176o to more than 30,ooo by 181o.80 Enslaved Virginians in the 178os could thus count on a growing cohort of free black allies and could draw upon inspiring memories of friends or acquaintances who had gambled successfully for freedom during the Revolution. These changes empowered African Americans within evangelical churches and
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