Chapter 7 Free Black People in Antebellum America.

Chapter 7

Free Black People

in Antebellum America

Demographics

Free African Americans in 1860– The North 226,152– The Upper South 224,963– The Deep South 36,955– Total 488,070– Total Population U.S. 26,957,471

Free Black Communities Dynamic communities

– Most free blacks lived in the Upper South• Philadelphia, Baltimore, New York,

and Boston• Established distinctive institutions

–To avoid inferior status–Preserve African heritage

Free Black community• Mutual aid societies-

(provided members medical/burial/helped widows)–Christian moral character–Generally restricted to men

»Black freemasons»Prince Hall

Origins of IndependentBlack Churches Core of Afr. Am. Communities

-pastors became leaders

-buildings housed schools, social org., and anti-slavery meetings

Origins of IndependentBlack Churches

•African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church –Richard Allen –Absalom Jones–Benjamin Rush

The First Black Schools

After Revolution–Black people established

schools for black children•Mutual aid societies and churches created and sustained

•Produced a growing class of literate African Americans

Black Leaders and Choices

Educated black elite provided leadership–Richard Allen–Absalom Jones–James Forten–Prince Hall (Petitioned Massachusetts

legislature to support colony)

Migration

Paul Cuffe and colonization–End the Atlantic slave trade–Spread Christianity–Refuge for free black people–Make profits

How was black freedom limited in the North?

Fugitive Slave Laws

Endangered freedom of blacks living in the North

Escaped slaves could be recaptured

Free Blacks were kidnapped into slavery

Caption for visual

This lithograph, published in 1818 by antislavery author Jesse Torrey Jun, depicts a free black man still in handcuffs and leg irons after an attempt to kidnap him into slavery. He is relating details of his experience to a sympathetic white man. The sparsely furnished attic room reflects the living conditions of many free African Americans of the time.

Caption

Blacks who escaped from slavery lived in fear that they might be sought by “masters” who often posted monetary offers for the return of runaway slaves

Black Laws

Limiting ability to voteSegregation of housing,

schools, transportation, employment

Black Laws cont..

Most white northerners wanted no contact with Blacks

Felt Blacks were inferior, dishonest, immoral lives

Feared Black competition for jobsContact would degrade Black

society

Segregation

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

Segregation

In 1841, the term Jim Crow was used in Mass to describe railroad cars

Blackface minstrel act

Black Communities: The Urban North

Urban neighborhoods –Resilient families–Poverty–Class divisions–Church and volunteer organizations–Education

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

– Extended families

Black Communities: The Urban North (cont.)

Employment– Rising European immigration filled jobs– Young black men excluded from

apprenticeships– 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

African-American Institutions

First appeared during the revolutionary era, then increased and multiplied.1. Schools (Lincoln University)

2. Mutual aid organizations (Black Odd Fellows)

3. Benevolent and fraternal organizations

4. Newspapers and journals

5. Theaters

Free Blacks: The Upper South

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

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

Conclusion

Life for free black people in the Upper and Deep South more difficult than in the North– Presumption of slavery– More restrictive laws