1. Idaho State University
African Americans in 1790s Philadelphia: Land of the Free and the Home of the Slave
Paul Sivitz, PhD
Department of History
Idaho State University

5. African Americans By District 1789-1791
Percent Free
(of total population)
Percent Slave
(of total population)
Districts (from left to right):
Southwark, Southern, Middle, Northern, Northern Liberties

6. Percent Free (of total population)6

7. Percent Slave (of total population)

8. African Americans By District 1789-1791
Percent Free
(of total population)
Percent Slave
(of total population)
Districts (from left to right):
Southwark, Southern, Middle, Northern, Northern Liberties

9. 9

10. Slave Auction at the London Coffee House

11. Residential Patterns by Class
Laborers Merchants

12. Maritime Trades

13. Black Neighborhoods
Free black households containing 6 to 15 people

14. “Hell Town”

15. Elfreth’s Alley
Elfreth’s Alley
Today

16. Hell Town or Ground Zero for the 1793 Yellow Fever Epidemic
Brothel, sorry, Boarding House of Richard and Mary Denny

17. Dock Creek
Hell Town
Yellow Fever Deaths