Free Blacks in American Society

Free Blacks in American Society Prior to Civil War

The treatise named 'Emancipating slaves, enslaving Free Men, a History of the American Civil War' by Jeffrey Rogers Hummel is one the best accounts of the History of the Civil War ever compiled. This is in essence what he had to say, that Civil War was in fact a mistake, and it had the most severe consequences on American history in later years, and he also reflects the Abolitionist view that the cutting off or the severance of the Slave States from the Union was one of the best things that could possibly have happened, and the secession of the Confederacy did in fact have some of the best results. Therefore, the treatise states, the best thing to have happened was the flight of the slaves when it did take place, and because of the fact that it happened with the help of the Free States, it led to the best results, as far as slaves were concerned. However, this does not mean that the Civil War did not have disastrous consequences; there were more than 600,000 deaths during the Civil War, that is about 1% of the entire population of the United States of America, and this figure was almost equal to the number of dead in the First and Second World Wars, as well as the Korean and the Vietnam Wars, all put together. Another important result of the Civil War was that of the plight of the freed slaves themselves; these unfortunate people were left to the mercy of the white people, and there was segregation, lynchings, and legalized and enforced poverty for the free slaves. (Emancipating slaves, enslaving Free Men: A History of the American Civil War)

However, what was the condition of slaves before the advent of the Civil War? The Revolutionary War, that had taken place some years before the Civil War, had the effect of developing new attitudes in the minds of the whites, especially in the North, about blacks, and of slaves in general. Not only was there a newfound appreciation for the black soldiers who had served during the War, but there was also a newfound spirit of liberation and tolerance for these people. Several laws were passed during the 1700's that stated that slavery must be gradually but definitely abolished. By the year 1770, it is documented that there were more than 40,000 free blacks in several American colonies. This group included runaway slaves, those descendants of earlier indentured slaves, those slaves who had been frees by their own masters, and those who had been fortunate enough to have been able to pay for their freedom, and several immigrants from the West Indies, and also those who had been born to freed parents. In an official census taken in 1790, it was shown that there were more than 59,000 free blacks in the country, of which more than 27,000 were in the North. By the early years of the 1800's most Northern states had started to take the necessary steps that would help abolish slavery. (Free Blacks before the Civil War)

After the Revolutionary War, several slaves started to find work in the numerous tobacco factories, textile mills and the various other factories that were in existence at that time, and some more found work in the railways and in shipping yards. Some pursued education, and two blacks became the editors of the 'Freedom's Journal' in 1827, and they were Samuel Cornish and John Russworm. However, the plight of the blacks, whether or not they were free, was almost the same as it had ever been, and wherever they went, they were invariably and inevitably treated as though they were inferior to the whites. They were barred from entering quite a few hotels, and restaurants and other public areas; they were not given the right to vote, the children of free blacks were not allowed to attend the same school that the white children were attending, and though some colleges did indeed admit free blacks, there were so few admissions available that a new college was opened specially for them. Some of these colleges were Wilberforce University in Ohio, and the Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. In a similar manner, most Churches did admit blacks, but they were forced to sit away from or separately form the whites. This led to the opening of separates churches for blacks alone. (Free Blacks before the Civil War)

One of the first such Churches was the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia. When the whites found that the number of free blacks was on the increase, they became quite inordinately alarmed by the situation, and the result was that many more restrictions than were necessary were imposed on them, and one example of this is seen in the fact that in several parts of New England, blacks were not allowed to visit certain parts of the town without a valid pass, and they also needed special permission and a statement that would allow them to entertain slaves within their own homes. In some parts of the South, free slaves could very well be caught if they were seen traveling without a pass, and without written proof that they were indeed free. Whites could not overcome the fear that blacks would revolt and even organize a full fledged riot or revolution, and it was for this reason that they were not allowed to own a weapon of any sort even for their own protection.

Several laws were passed to this effect, and despite all these precautions, a massive slave revolt did break out in Saint Domingue in the year 1791, when more than 500,000 slaves rebelled against their French masters and effectively took over the country for themselves. The American Colonization Society was founded by those people who actively supported slavery, the more prominent among them being the U.S. Representatives John C. Calhoun of South Carolina and Henry Clay of Kentucky, in order to put a stop to the number of freedoms that free slaves were taking for themselves. The 'plan' was to transport hose free blacks who wanted to go back to their homes back home to Africa, and in the year 1822, a Black American Colony was effectively established on the West Coast of Africa, in Liberia. Liberia eventually became one of the first self-governed black republics in Africa. (Free Blacks before the Civil War)

The sad fact is that when slaves were freed, quite a few black women who had been the mistresses of their white master were allowed to go free, and so were the children that had been born out of this union. These children, also known as 'mulattoes', have contributed most significantly to the demographics of the free black population in America before the Civil War. (Where Did Free Blacks Come From and How Did They Obtain Their Freedom?) One ex-slave, Sella Martin, said, in a touching statement, that the institution of slavery must be abolished, and the supposition of many a white that a Negro is very well contented and in fact happy to be a slave is nothing but a myth; which man, she questions, would be happy to see his on wife or his own daughter being violated by a white man, or being sold off on the auction block like one of a herd of cattle? (Abolitionism, Judgment Day)

If a specific example of one particular state were to be taken, then Mississippi would be the ideal choice to demonstrate the plight of blacks and of slaves before the Civil War. At the outset, it must be remembered that the black population in Mississippi during the 1800's was miniscule, and this may be because of the reason that blacks were generally not allowed to move into the state, the laws and the various rules and regulations were made so very strict that no black did have the will power and the strength to face them. If they succeeded in moving into the state, then numerous other laws that had been created specifically for blacks would hound them. As late as the year 1820, every Negro or black was considered to be a slave, irrespective of whether or not he actually was one, and if they were to prove that they were indeed free, they were required to carry a certificate that said that they were free. In addition, the court of law in Mississippi required that every black had to present himself in Court to offer proof that he was free, and it was only when the Court was satisfied that it would awards them a certificate of 'free status' wherein the person's name, color, his physical stature, his personal scars, and so on, would be detailed. (A Contested Presence, Free Blacks in Antebellum, Mississippi: 1820 -- 1860)