The Status of Free African Americans in Northern and Southern Society Flashcards
1
Q
Fugitive Slave Act of 1850
A
- part of the compromise struck by the South + North involving slavery in the new territory the US acquired in the Mexican-American War
- put more restrictions + punishment on slaves (especially fugitive slaves)
- fugitive slaves can’t testify + no trial by jury + guilt is assumed + posse can be called against them
- anyone found to be aiding fugitive slaves would be fined $100 + thrown in jail for 6 months
- judges compensated more for ruling in favor of slave owner
- act was retroactive (no longer mattered where/when they were a fugitive slave they could be taken back at any time)
2
Q
Effects of Fugitive Slave Act
A
- heightens sectional tensions w/ kidnappings becoming more common among free blacks
- many blacks begin to migrate to Canada even more
- caused many free blacks to reexamine whether immigration was a viable alternative
- some Northern black leaders encouraged armed resistance against new act (including Frederick Douglass)
- gave the illusion of sectional peace (southern wishes had been granted) (would be shattered repeatedly)
- ex = publishing of Uncle Tom’s cabin depicted a much harsher view of slavery than what Southerners generally accepted
3
Q
Free Blacks
A
- have always been part of American society (during colonial + slave era)
- most lived in the shadow of plantations + slavery (known to many historians as quasi free blacks (not really slaves but not free either)
- 1826 = free blacks in Baltimore sent petition to white countrymen
- most free blacks segregated under law (second class citizens)
- occupied inferior status between whites + slaves
- many struggled to earn a living + find housing + educate children + escape violence
- presence of free blacks disturbed whites both in the North + South
- freedom did not mean equality + equal opportunity in jobs/schools/housing
4
Q
Sources of Free blacks population
A
- manumissions = included private manumission where owners felt oral disregard for institution of slavery
- some masters troubled by living in society where both freedom and slavery exist
- public manumission = legal abolition of slavery in North + freedom granted to black people who served in American Revolution
- Southern states even liberalized slaves that fought after Revolution
- natural increases = children born from free black parents + mulatto children from white/black women + children born from Indian black relationships
- some slaves able to purchase freedom during Revolutionary era
- some slaves took there masters to court to petition for freedom
- some slaves just ran away from plantations to the North
5
Q
Whites Thoughts on Free Blacks
A
- most Americans view free blacks negatively (strong consensus among whites in favor of white supremacy
- free blacks seen as part of a degraded class (widespread agreement nationally that all blacks were intellectually + physically inferior - similar to Jefferson beliefs)
- fearful of giving blacks more legal rights
- thought blacks had much less initiative than whites
- most whites thought these differences in blacks vs whites were permanent/would take centuries for blacks to catch up
- miscegenation strongly frowned upon (thought it would lead to a tainting of white race)
- most believed racial prejudice was natural + logical response to black people
- thought a biracial egalitarian society was either completely impossible/would only be achieved in the very distant future
- subordination of blacks was a widespread belief even among white abolitionists (just wanted to end slavery but didn’t like blacks)
- free blacks viewed as social danger (menace to society) (responsible for most of the crime + disorder in American society)
- even abolitionists felt that blacks were “degraded + vicious”
- served as arguments against large scale emancipation of blacks
- white Northerners afraid mass emancipation would lead to mass migration of blacks to North (take away jobs) (become a depraved population)
- Federal Census (1840) - falsely revealed free blacks had much higher rate of insanity than slaves (10x higher) (swayed some public opinions)
- gave credence + comfort + cause for their mistreatment of free black population
- strain of true freedom “too much for blacks to handle”
- stupid belief that free black men are a danger to white women (danger of miscegenation - even though most miscegenation came from white masters raping slave women)
6
Q
Sambo
A
Uncle Tom
- southerners buy into this image b/c they want this image of slavery to be portrayed to the world as a positive
7
Q
Mulattos in Lousiana
A
- many came over from West Indies as mulatto children
- highly privileged class
- largest black slave owners in US were in LA
- see themselves as intermediate class between blacks + whites
- educated + speak French/English/Spanish fluently
- many able to pass for white
- since they arrive before Americans able to settle LA, they’re able to form free black militias (called upon multiple times to defend LA from Indians + European adversaries)
- b/c they’re able to form free black militias they even have the authority to punish white men
8
Q
Free Black Pop.
A
- MA + VA had largest free black populations
9
Q
Free Blacks in the South
A
- most of them stayed in the South (family + familiarity + most are unskilled so can’t get jobs in the North)
- most Southern free blacks lived + worked on the margins of Southern economy (faced restrictions + competition from white/slave workers)
- most were pushed into poverty (small % made comfortable living)
- most lived in countryside as farmers
- 1860 = 75% of all NC blacks lived as farm hands
- black landowners typically owned subsistence farms (could not compete w/ large white landowners)
- some blacks in South worked in urban areas as railroad workers
- free black women also worked in the field + as domestic workers (similar jobs they worked as slaves)
- very few free black women worked as skilled workers (most skilled free black women worked as bath workers)
- those free blacks that lived in coastal areas worked as fishermen + whalers (Paul Cuffey) + as stewards on ships
- urban free blacks had greater freedom + higher wages
- in some cities 50% of adult free black males worked in factories (metal + tobacco + paper mill)
- some cities free black artisans dominated skilled trades (Charleston, SC free blacks dominate millright trade + almost half of all tailors in SC)
- elite black artisans socialized w/ one another w/ their children attending the same schools + attending the same churches (made up the elite of black society)
- elite black societies segregated by skin color
- free blacks in Lower South better off than Upper South (had more entrenched positions)
- free blacks in SC/GA/LA had closer ties to upper class whites (would protect you from unfair competitions + were patrons of free black businesses)
- manumissions in Lower South were more selective (meant masters more invested in success of former slaves)
- most free blacks in South worked in poorly paid positions
- some had contracts w/ whites to provide services for food + clothing + nominal wages (some could last decades) (many ended up in debt peonage)
- some blacks forced back into temporary slavery since they were unable to pay fines + taxes + jail terms
- apprenticeship laws worked to detriment of many free blacks (very cheap form of labor in Southern states)
- whites used apprenticeship laws to get blacks + whites + women + children to work for cheap
- some southern states removed provisions allowing free blacks to read + write
- black children generally apprenticed to the most menial of positions (picking tobacco/cotton etc.
- immigration of Irish/Germans into Southern states into 1830s hurt economic position of free blacks (now even more competition)
- whites found it more preferable to hire white immigrants than free blacks (whites slowly replacing blacks in certain industries like heavy manual labor)
- certain jobs in Southern cities become synonymous for free blacks (most important was barber trade)
- some of wealthiest free blacks in South were black barbers (not physically demanding + paid well especially if one’s clients were white + didn’t take a lot of capital to own a barber shop)
- the most successful free blacks earned a living serving white clients exclusively (didn’t mix clientele)
- William Johnson (black barber) in Naches, MS - freed by petition of owner - mulatto - disassociated himself from most free blacks in city unless they were of same class
- Johnson - opened barber shop + very successful/respected in white community - ended up buying property + slaves
- Northern free blacks consistently competed against poor white immigrants (specifically Irish) (fewer immigrants in the South so an advantage)
10
Q
Free Black Housing
A
- had some of worst housing in country
- most in countryside usually squatted on shacks on small plots of land no one wanted
- others built isolated shacks tucked away from main road
- by 1830 at least 25% of free blacks in VA lived w/ white employers (common in the South)
- quite common in South for white employers to house black field hands + black slaves
- a disadvantage of living w/ whites is less autonomy
- sometimes free blacks would form small villages
- SC required all free blacks to pay capitation tax (essentially a poll tax) (used as an incentive for free blacks to work)
- faced residential segregation in the North (no so much in South)
- segregation + economic exploitation in North would be the foundation of the future black ghetto (blacks excluded from white neighborhoods well into 20th century)
- Some of these like Little Africa in Cincinatti + Nigger Hill in Boston
- housing situation may be a big reason why free blacks in South didn’t move North
- were the targets of a lot of violence from white immigrants in the North
- Alley Housing = common in both North + South (cheapest housing available in the city + in proximity to major employment centers for unskilled workers) (most residents uneducated + unskilled) (even if skilled unhighly they could compete)
- Alley Housing = essentially mini ghettos (generally concentrated in oldest sectors of the city) (overwhelmingly segregated by race)
11
Q
Free Black Health
A
- had higher mortality rate than whites (2-3x)
- died of diseases like pneumonia + tuberculosis + malnutrition
- normally had a very unhealthy diet
- epidemics took serious toll on free blacks (suffer disproportionately in both the North + South)
- housing of Southern free blacks also poor but no black ghettos in South (blacks scattered throughout Southern cities + lived often w/ white employers)
- lived near railroads + rivers (areas that were loud + dirty + dangerous)
- residential segregation increasing by the Civil War in the South
12
Q
Free Black Families
A
- most were two parent families despite poverty
- free black families were headed more by women than white families mainly due to the poverty but not much different than numbers seen in white families
- more black women worked outside of the home then white women
- free black families more likely to take in lodgers/relatives in order to help pull resources to pay bills
13
Q
Education
A
- free blacks place their faith in changing their status through education
- view education as a means towards upward mobility
- way to improve their status not only in their own eyes but in the eyes of whites
- free black leaders thought obtaining an education would maybe convince whites they should be given right to vote (wouldn’t happen)
- thought education would elevate their character + enhance their image
- free black leaders felt education would make differences in skin color irrelevant
- education + literacy the exception for blacks before Civil War
- most educated blacks had only a primary school education
- Puritans + Quakers took particular interest in the education of free blacks (specifically teaching them how to read the Bible)
- manumission socieites helped establish black schools (African Schools) across the North (schools that white philanthropists would donate to to educate blacks)
- black Church also took interest in education especially Methodists (set specific educational guidelines for its ministers)
- black Churches educated blacks mostly through Sunday Schools
- black churches would publish own newspapers like Christian Recorder
- free blacks more likely to obtain an education in the North (specifically New England than the South (fewer restrictive laws + more schools + more money being put into their school)
- elite blacks sent children to private schools and tutors at homes
14
Q
Black Higher Education
A
- attempts for many blacks to enter higher education before Civil War was in vain (most not allowed to attend college in either North/South
- very few states provided public funds for blacks schools
- in instances where schools were established for black children even in the North they often met difficulty (ex: RI Quaker school was burned to the ground)
-
15
Q
James McCune Smith
A
Prominent 19th century physician
- born a slave but freed at the age of 14
- fortunate enough to attend one of handful of free black schools in New York
- rejected from dozens of medical schools after undergrad (accepted to University of Glasgow in Scotland)
- lives in Scotland for 5 years where he gets 3 degrees
- was first university trained black physician in America
- establishes practice in New York + becomes involved in advancement of free blacks/slaves
- wrote widely in anti-slavery newspapers + part of several anti slavery orgs.
- huge advocate of moral reform (certain characteristics needed for black people to advance, specifically education)
- One of the earliest proponents of industrial education (joined w/ Frederick Douglass to establish a black industrial college -would never work)
- Smith believed blacks should receive both a liberal arts education + learn a trade (always give you the opportunity to be self reliant)
- strong proponent of race pride (preached race unity + self respect
- opposed colonization (saw it as devious scheme to rid US of blacks)
- shining example of black achievement
