Author’s Note: This is a formal, writing piece about how free blacks were in the North. I explain my thoughts and ideas with support from different websites.This is a research paper, completing one of my quarter 4 goals.
Imagine being told what to do all the time. You couldn’t eat, go to church or even mingle with someone just because of your race. How would you feel? Not very good, right? This is exactly what was happening to free blacks in the North. Blacks in the North were actually not free at all, even though they were so called “free”.
First of all, there were many restrictions on the blacks in the North. Blacks were not allowed to dine or associate, with the whites, share with deliberations in our jury, and attend our courts. They also couldn’t represent the country in legislature, attend anyone at bed, sickness or pain, mingle with any white or marry their daughters! (Document B) That doesn’t sound very free to me. They were faced with racism, segregation and discrimination throughout the years when they were supposedly free. Even though the North emancipated its slaves, they were not ready to treat them like citizens and sometimes not even like human beings! Segregation was rampant, especially in Philadelphia, where African Americans were excluded from concert halls, public transportation, schools, churches, orphanages, and other places. (PBS. Org.)So, even though the right of being free was extended by law, the whites still let things happen!
Even though the restrictions on blacks are very important, the rights that blacks had before everything happened is very valuable information. Before 1800, free blacks had normal rights of citizenship! In some places they could vote, serve on juries, and work in skilled trades. (PBS) But as the need to justify slavery grew stronger, and segregation started to unfold, free blacks gradually lost all their citizenship rights. Through intimidation, switching up laws and horrible violence, the whites declared racial supremacy and forbid blacks their citizenship! In 1857, the Dred Scott decision formally declared that blacks were not citizens of the United States. (Pbs.org). The only states in which black men never lost the right to vote were Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts. (PBS)Otherwise, they lost everything else in all of the other Northern states that they had just gotten after the Revolutionary War. Fortunately, the free blacks did not just sit around and take Northern racism, they fought. The blacks found their own schools, orphanages and churches where they did not have any restrictions! So overall, the whites had won for now.
Although what they had is a huge portion of my reasoning, how free they actually were is too! One of the big things free blacks could do in the north is to vote, but only in the New England States. The Mid-west and Mid-Atlantic states still did not let them vote or they were very restricted from voting. Another thing that they could do is to be in a jury, but that only was agreed on in one of the New England states, Massachusetts. So some of the things that they were actually free of was not making them a slave or buy or sell them. The free blacks had the privilege of having no fear of ever again being sold or bought, like a candy bar. Also they could be free to live and to thrive, and if he can to pay taxes and to perform specific duties. Although they could do all of this stuff, the free African Americans still were not free at all! If they were really free, they would be able to do whatever the whites did! (Document A & B)
In conclusion, free blacks in the North were not actually free. They were in a state of semi –freedom you could call it. Yes, they did have the right to do some things but mostly they could not do anything the whites could do! They were separated from the whites completely, not letting them even talk to them at all! That’s not free at all! How would you feel if you were in their position? Would you like being a grown man, being told what to do, like you were 3 years old again?
Nice job!:)
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