Chapter 7
Free Black People
in Antebellum America
I. Demographics of Freedom

Three regions to consider
– The North
– The Upper South
– The Deep South

Most free blacks lived in the Upper South
– Few in the Deep South
• Southern states made manumissions more difficult

See Map 7-1
Demographics

Free African Americans in 1860
– The North
– The Upper South
– The Deep South
– Total
– Total Population U.S.
226,152
224,963
36,955
488,070
26,957,471
II. The Jacksonian Era

Transportation revolution
– Steamboats
• Robert Fulton
– Turnpikes and Canals
• National Road
• Erie Canal
– Railroads
The Jacksonian Era (cont.)

Market revolution
– Commercial farming
– Factory production
– Reform movements
– Universal white manhood suffrage
The Jacksonian Era (cont.)
– Mass political parties
• Universal white manhood suffrage
• Democrats and Whigs
– Economic nationalism
» Adams, Clay, and the American System
• Nullification crisis, 1832-1833
– Andrew Jackson
» State rights
The Jacksonian Era (cont.)

Whig party, 1834-1852
– Anti-Jackson coalition
– Nationalist approach to economy
• Protective tariff
• National bank
• Federal monies for internal improvements
– Opposed territorial expansion
– Endorsed evangelical Protestantism
• Reforms
III. Limited Freedom in the North

Black laws
– Few black men voted
– Segregation
• Housing, schools, transportation, employment

Fugitive slave law, 1793
– Seized and returned to slaveholder
– Kidnapped and enslaved free blacks
• Vigilance in the black community
Limited Freedom in the North
(cont.)

Black laws
– Anglo-Saxon traits lacking in other races
• Black people inferior and incapable
– Prohibit or restrict free African-Americans
from entering their states
– Prove freedom
– Post bond
Limited Freedom in the North
(cont.)

Disfranchisement
– Common in the North
• Except New England
– Property qualifications to deny right to vote
• Strongest in the Old Northwest
– Universal manhood suffrage evolved from one of class to
one of race
– Before Civil War, ninety-three percent of northern
blacks live in states where right to vote was either
denied or severely limited
Limited Freedom in the North
(cont.)

Segregation
– Exclusionary legislation in Old Northwest
• Pervasive discrimination victimized all
• Hotels, taverns, public transportation
– Atmosphere of hate caused African Americans to
distrust white people
» Ghettos
» Boston ~ “Nigger Hill”
» Cincinnati ~ “Little Africa”
» Southern visitors argued blacks better off as
slaves
IV. Black Communities:
The Urban North

Urban neighborhoods
– Resilient families
– Poverty
– Class divisions
– Church and volunteer organizations
– Education
– See Table 7-2
Black Communities:
The Urban North (cont.)

Black family
– Variety
• Two-parent households common in 1820
• Single-parent trend became increasingly
common
– Headed by women
» High male mortality rate
» Employment opportunities
• Financial need encouraged boarders
– Extended families
Black Communities:
The Urban North (cont.)

Employment
– Rising European immigration filled jobs
– Young black men excluded from
apprenticeships
– Violence used against employers
– Led to deskilling of blacks
• Menial labor
• Low wages
• Unemployment common
Black Communities:
The Urban North (cont.)

Black elite
– Ministers, doctors, lawyers, and
undertakers
• Carpenters, barbers, waiters, and coachman
– Black institutions and culture
– Anti-slavery movement
– Racial justice
– Bridge to sympathetic white people
Black Communities:
The Urban North (cont.)

Black professionals
– Physicians
• James McCune Smith, John S. Rock, Martin R. Delaney
– Attorneys
• Macon B. Allen, Robert Morris
– Artists and musicians
• Robert S. Duncanson, Patrick Reason,
• Edmonia Lewis, Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield
– Authors
• Frederick Douglass, William Nell, William Wells Brown
V. African-American Institutions

First appeared during the revolutionary
era, then increased and multiplied.
– Schools
– Mutual aid organizations
– Benevolent and fraternal organizations
– Newspapers and journals
– Theaters
African-American Institutions
(cont.)

Black churches
– Spoke against slavery and racial oppression
– Many remained affiliated with white churches
– Many northern blacks attended white churches
• Segregated, separate Sunday schools for black children
• Took communion after white people
• African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME)
– 17,000 members in U.S. and Canada
African-American Institutions
(cont.)

Public schools
– Tax-supported public schools started in
Massachusetts in 1827
• Racially segregated in the North between 18201860
• Believed black children lacked mental capacity
• Lowered the quality of education
• Feared black students attracted more blacks to
district
• Many black children excluded from public
schools
African-American Institutions
(cont.)
– Whites people were reluctant to spend tax dollars on
black public schools
• Lack of funds meant poor education or none at all
• White teachers paid less for teaching in black schools
• Black leaders divided over segregated schools
– 1845 Massachusetts public schools integrated, except Boston
» Boston integrated in 1855
» Some progress in smaller districts in the North
» Most school in the North, however, remained segregated
• Colleges
– By 1860, most northern colleges admitted black applicants
African-American Institutions
(cont.)

Voluntary associations
– Mutual aid societies attractive to women
– Black Odd Fellows
– Prince Hall Masons

Evangelical Protestantism and reforms
– Literary
• Phoenix Literary Society
– Temperance
• Middle class
• Helped unite black communities
VI. Free Blacks:
The Upper South

Family ties to slaves
– Increased suffering for those enslaved
– The sale south of friends and loved ones
– Gained a reputation for harboring fugitives

Greater risk of being enslaved
– An assumption of slavery in most states

Problems traveling, congregating, owning
firearms
– Greater exclusion than northern counterparts
• Hotels, trains, parks, hospitals, etc.
Free Blacks:
The Upper South (cont.)

Employment
– Urban areas before 1850
• Less competition from European immigrants
• Most free black men were unskilled laborers or waiters
• Most free black women washed clothes or worked as
domestic servants

Schools
– No racial integration and no public funding
• Most black children received no formal education
• Churches and individuals provided sporadic opportunities
VII. Free Blacks:
The Deep South


No revolutionary rhetoric nor changing economy
Fewer manumissions
– Usually mixed-race children

Three-caste system in Deep South
– Whites, free blacks, and slaves
– Strong ties between free blacks and former masters
• Loans, jobs, and protection cemented this bond
• Better off economically than free black people in other
regions

Half live in cities
– Stronger position in skilled trades
• Increased conflict and tension among white skilled
workers
VIII. Conclusion

Life for free black people in the Upper and
Deep South more difficult than in the North
– Presumption of slavery
– More restrictive laws