Editing James Forten (section)

== Revolutionary Service ==

James Forten was born on September 2, 1766, in Philadelphia, free-born to parents whose freedom predated his birth. His early education at Anthony Benezet's Quaker school provided the learning that his subsequent career would require. His service as a powder boy aboard the privateer Royal Louis during the Revolution, and his capture by the British, placed him among the Black Americans who served the patriot cause. His refusal of a British offer to relocate to England, choosing imprisonment over abandoning America, demonstrated the patriotism that his later activism would invoke.<ref name="newman">{{cite book |last=Newman |first=Richard S. |title=Freedom's Prophet: Bishop Richard Allen, the AME Church, and the Black Founding Fathers |year=2008 |publisher=New York University Press |location=New York}}</ref>

His apprenticeship to sailmaker Robert Bridges following the war prepared him for the trade that would make his fortune. His acquisition of Bridges' sail loft upon the latter's retirement placed him at the head of an enterprise that Philadelphia's maritime commerce required. His innovations in sail design and handling, for which he received patents, demonstrated abilities that transcended mere craftsmanship. The workforce he employed, including white workers who labored under Black supervision, challenged racial hierarchies that other enterprises maintained.<ref name="winch"/>

His financial success, built through excellence and innovation, created the wealth that his activism would deploy. His prominence among Philadelphia's free Black community, and his connections to white allies including the Quaker merchants whose ships used his sails, gave him influence that less successful Black Philadelphians could not command. His Revolutionary service, which he invoked in arguments for Black citizenship, provided the moral authority that his wealth complemented.<ref name="newman"/>