When the Revolutionary War began, there were five hundred thousand Blacks living in the thirteen original colonies. Most of them were slaves, but many of the larger cities like Boston, New York City, and Philadelphia were home to small free Black communities where men like Prince Hall led protests and presented petitions calling for equal rights and the abolishment of the slave trade. After the war ended in 1783, these communities would continue to grow in both numbers and influence, reaching their political zenith during the Abolitionist era of the 1850s.
