African American Life in

the Mid-1800’sAn Investigation Assignment

The experiences of African

Americans in the mid-1800s

depended on where they lived…In

slavery or in freedom. Frederick Douglass

used to tour the

Northern U.S. to talk

to people about

slavery.

Free blacks as he

said, had some

rights, but slaves had

none.

Free or not, all African

Americans were shaped by

racism. Racism is defined as the

belief that one race is

superior to another.

The law defined slaves as

property.

They could be bought,

sold, inherited

In some states, they

could NOT be set free

Rural vs. Urban SlavesMany slaves,

especially in

the South

worked on

farms/plantatio

ns

*By 1860, 70,000

slaves lived in towns

or cities.

*They worked in

factories, mills, or

workshops.

*Wages earned

belonged to owners.

How did slaves gain

freedom?Some slaves bought their own freedom

from their owners, but this process

became more and more rare as the 1800s

progressed.

Many slaves became free through

MANUMISSION, the voluntary

EMANCIPATION of a slave by a

slaveowner.

Slaves set free were often:

Too old or sick to work

children of an interracial couple

escapees (who were not actually freed)

Free African Americans in the

SouthMost worked as laborers,

craftspeople, or servants

Could not own guns, or

travel from state to state

freely

Were restricted in jobs they

could do

Free African Americans in the

NorthThey experienced discrimination everywhere

Denied right to vote, work, and segregated in

schools

“Even the noblest black is denied that which is

free to the vilest (worst) white. The omnibus, the

railroad car, the ballot-box, the jury box, the halls

of legislation, the army, the public lands, the

school, the church, the lecture room, the social

circle, the table, are all either absolutely or

virtually denied to him.”