Chapter Overview

In contrast to the slavery of the South in the decades before the American Civil War, free blacks (generally in the northern states) were in some ways more oppressed than their southern brethren. Proponents of slavery at the time were quick to favorably compare the "benevolent institution" of the South to the mistaken position of the North, in which free blacks were denied many rights and privileges of white citizens. But while it is true that free blacks in the North were subject to a host of demeaning attitudes, discrimination, and downright violence, all of those leaving historical records were clear in their preference of any state of existence over that of enslavement. Yet unfortunately for the free blacks, "freedom" was not everything the word would suggest and was ultimately more of a challenge than an entitlement.

Learning Objectives

After reading this chapter you should understand the following:

• The limitations of being a free black person in the antebellum United States
• The everyday problems and tribulations of living in a culture of extreme racism
• The economic and social context of living as a free black person in this era
• The educational opportunities and limitations for the black population of the antebellum North
• The black convention movement and its place in early abolitionist America
• The important role of, and liability of being, a free black woman
• The ongoing debate in the antebellum black community regarding emigration to Africa