Francis Marion, the inspiration for Benjamin Martin’s character in the movie The Patriot, was much more than a knife-between-the-teeth warrior; he’s a man who had obviously thought deeply about the local political economy. In one passage, Marion observes that the white population of his state “form but two classes, the rich and the poor.” The poor, he continues, might not be slaves, but monetarily speaking, they are little better off, since they are excluded from the then-thriving plantation economy. As such, Marion adds, the poor are more interested in drinking than learning: “They know nothing of the comparative blessings of their own country, nor of the great dangers which threaten it, and therefore care nothing about it.” And yet as for the rich, “They are generally very rich, and consequently afraid to stir,” lest they risk their estates and property.
Indeed, in Marion’s description, we see a familiar problem in rural, even feudal, societies: the poor are not motivated to patriotic action because they feel that they have no stake in the system, and the rich are not motivated because they feel that they have too much of a stake.
So by this class-bound reckoning, it’s something of a marvel that any South Carolinian fought in the Revolution. And yet, of course, fight they did, at least enough of them. Still, even in military victory, Marion’s bleak political assessment—that the class chasm was weakening the will to fight—was vindicated. In one incident, 30 American patriots lurked in hiding while a British unit of 90 men, transporting 200 American prisoners, paused for the evening and then drank itself into a stupor. Whereupon Marion’s men attacked, overwhelmed the British, and freed their fellow Americans. And yet of the 200 freed Americans, not a one wished to join Marion’s force—they just weren’t interested. At that point, some of Marion’s patriots temporarily gave in to despair: “Where is the use of fighting now, when all is lost?”
Yet still, Marion soldiered on, soldiering onward to victory.
