Antebellum Free Blacks

Slavery in an Age of Revolution

• Rhetoric of liberalism inspired blacks to hope for and/or demanding freedom. • Christian egalitarianism, too, became a source of inspiration.• Blacks challenged slavery in many places.• Many whites questioned their right to hold slavery in human form.• However, “scientific” forms of racism would be articulated; used to deny black humanity, justifying denial of “life, liberty & the pursuit of happiness.”

Q1: Black Patriots

The majority of African Americans fought for whom during the American Revolution? (Match the region from which they hailed & the side for which they fought.)

A. New England Blacks on behalf of the Americans

B. New England Blacks on behalf of the British

C. Southern Blacks on behalf of the Americans

D. Southern Blacks on behalf of the British

Answer: D

Sources of Emancipation

Freedom came quickly for some, slowly for others, depending upon one’s location, one’s owners & one’s will.

A. Petitions B. Freedom SuitsC. Emancipation via Constitution or StatuteD. Gradual EmancipationE. Running AwayF. Individual Acts of Manumission

Freedom & Slavery Nationwide

8%

92%

1790 14%

86%

1830

11%

89%

1860

Free BlackEnslaved

Freedom & Slavery in the South

5%

95%

17908%

92%

1830

6%

94%

1860

Free BlackEnslaved

Freedom & Slavery in the North/West

40%60%

1790

83%

17%

1830

67%

33%

1860

Free Black

Enslaved

Q2: Free at Last

Where did the majority of free blacks live in 1790?

A. New England

B. The Middle Colonies

C. The Upper South

D. The Deep South

Answer: C

Freedom: North versus South

55%45%

1790

57%

43%

1830

53%

47%

1860

SouthNorth

Free But Not Equal

The revolution did not bring racial egalitarianism, though. Free Africans Americans, both North & South, faced:

A. SegregationB. DisenfranchisementC. HumiliationD. Bodily Harm

Discrimination grew worse after 1830.E. Scientific RacismF. Rise of Jacksonian DemocracyG. Colonization

Free Black Political Rights

For the most part, free blacks encountered discrimination in public spaces & found their political & civil rights limited in both the North & the South.

A. Right to VoteB. Right to Serve on Juries & in MilitaryC. Civil Rights in Public PlacesD. Civil Rights in Private Places

Struggle for the Vote

Paul & John Cuffee refused to pay taxes when they were not allowed to vote (1778-1780). They served jail time for non-payment, but took their case to the Mass Supreme Judicial Court. The Court ruled in 1783 that as tax-payers, the brothers had a right to vote.

As late as 1860, only New England states granted full political rights to free blacks, rights secured through the persistence & organization of free black activists like Cuffee and their white allies.

A silhouette of Paul Cuffee, the only known image of the man.

The Upside of Freedom

Though not treated as equals by the vast majority of whites, freedom come with distinct advantages for the free black community:

A. Protect family membersB. Change employersC. Mobility D. Earn wages & acquire propertyE. Will property to their descendantsF. Participate in abolition movement

Free Persons of Color

A. CommunityFree African Americans formed tight-knit communities where self-reliance & mutual support became a source of survival & racial pride.

B. Class Most were “hard working, unschooled, and poor.” Not enough wealthy or professional free blacks to “constitute a

separate class.” Nearly all “harbored abolitionist sentiments.”

C. Location New England & Middle States Upper South Deep South (particularly Charleston & New Orleans). “Overwhelmingly an urban people.”

Black Mutual Aid

Despite revolutionary hopes, free blacks found themselves under assault in the streets & even saw their political rights turned backwards after the 1830s. Noted the Bostonian activist, Prince Hall: “We yet find ourselves, in many respects, in very disagreeable & disadvantageous circumstances; most of which must attend us, so long as we and our children live in America.”

Took efforts to ameliorate their conditions via:A. Mutual Aid SocietiesB. Self-improvement AssociationsC. Negro Convention MovementD. Abolitionist Movement

White Images of Free Blacks

Miss DinahFrom Edward Williams Clay’s series of 14 cartoons, called "Life in Philadelphia," which satirized the social conventions adopted by Philadelphia's blacks.

Man asks, "Is Miss Dinah at home?

She replies, "Yes sir but she bery potickly engaged in washing de dishes."He says, "Ah! I'm sorry I cant have the honour to pay my devours to her. Give her my card."