What would you do if your government didn’t want to help you with enemies because they didn't want to risk war? In Bacon’s Rebellion in 1676, backcountry farmers led by Nathaniel Bacon, a British aristocrat, rebelled against tidewater planters who occupied prime real estate and were led by William Berkeley, the governor of Virginia. Bacon’s rebellion was a power struggle between two stubborn, selfish leaders, Nathaniel Bacon and Governor Sir William Berkeley who fought over Indian policy. Bacon's followers resented the planting elite because of the control they had on the colony’s resources and government. To understand the rebellion, it is important to understand the role indentured servants played and the situation poor farmers in Virginia faced in the 1660s. In Southern America, the growth of cash crops required the need for a large labor force.
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Similar to the Declaration of the People, it set a precedent for future Americans to obtain equality. The plantation economy in Virginia created a demand for cheap labor filled by poor, white indentured servants and then by black slaves, who later joined Bacon's Rebellion. The fear of another uprising was a way for planters and the colony to control the poor. The rebellion unified different races and economic classes. Every effort was made to improve the image of those who governed Virginia; taxes were reduced and free man were given back their rights. “The colonists were satisfied by the adoption of a more aggressive Indian policy and the notion that Indians and whites could not live together peaceably was enforced, which led to the introduction of the Indian Reservation system in 1677.” Bacon's Rebellion demonstrated that poor whites and poor blacks could be united in a cause. This fear hastened the transition to racial
Similar to the Declaration of the People, it set a precedent for future Americans to obtain equality. The plantation economy in Virginia created a demand for cheap labor filled by poor, white indentured servants and then by black slaves, who later joined Bacon's Rebellion. The fear of another uprising was a way for planters and the colony to control the poor. The rebellion unified different races and economic classes. Every effort was made to improve the image of those who governed Virginia; taxes were reduced and free man were given back their rights. “The colonists were satisfied by the adoption of a more aggressive Indian policy and the notion that Indians and whites could not live together peaceably was enforced, which led to the introduction of the Indian Reservation system in 1677.” Bacon's Rebellion demonstrated that poor whites and poor blacks could be united in a cause. This fear hastened the transition to racial