1. Slaves Without Masters
Free Blacks in Early America

2. The American Revolution, 1775-1783
Few free blacks before the Revolution of 1776
Number of free blacks increased during the Revolutionary era
Whites inspired by revolutionary rhetoric
Slaves won freedom by serving in military
Slaves escaped
,000 free Blacks in the North
,000 free Blacks in the South

3. Northern States free slaves
Northern blacks were prepared for freedom Almost all had been born in America Almost all had adapted to white society Almost all had frequent contact with whites before emancipation

4. Masters freeing slaves in the South
More Blacks were freed in the Upper South than in the Deep South. Slaves freed in the Deep South often had ◆ Kinship ties to their former masters ◆ Granted special favors ◆ Least productive

5. Free blacks in the Deep South
Free Blacks in Georgia and South Carolina were
lighter skinned
better educated
wealthier
more skilled
had better relations with whites
. . . than did their free blacks in the Upper South.
Mulattoes, known in the Deep South as “free people of color,” were held in much higher esteem than slaves

6. Life was harder for slaves in the Deep South
Slaves in Georgia an South Carolina had little hope of gaining freedom Whether thru escape or purchase Maryland and Virginia had lots of escapes and manumissions Free blacks – fastest growing part of the populations of Maryland and Virginia

7. Free Black Population in 1820
233,600
Most lived in Maryland and Virginia
Most lived in rural areas

8. Black Masters
In 1830, 3,777 black or mixed raced heads of families owned slaves.
The overwhelming majority of Black slave owners owned their husbands, wives, or children.
Some African-Americans actually owned slaves that were NOT related to them.

9. Free Blacks worked
In the cities, black men held menial jobs Black women worked as maids and cooks

10. Restrictions on free blacks in the North
Interracial marriage outlawed Limits on what jobs they could perform 80% of free blacks in the North could not vote Social custom prevented blacks from serving on juries Some states refused to allow blacks to testify against whites

11. Racial segregation in the North
By 1820, racial segregation was common in the North
Separate seats in theaters and lecture halls
Could not enter hotels, restaurants, and resorts
Blacks prayed in “Negro pews” in churches
Educated in segregated schools
Punished in segregated prisons
Nursed in segregated hospitals
Lived in segregated neighborhoods
Buried in Segregated cemeteries

12. Free Blacks create their own institutions
Because they were barred from white institutions
Mutual aid societies and Black churches
Mutual aid societies pooled resources
Some were based on skin color
Some were based on occupation
Some celebrated heritage
Lodges of Black Masons – the Black elite

13. Black Education
Segregated schools in the North and South Black schools were not popular with southern whites Saw schools as “subversive” South Carolina (1834) made it illegal for free Blacks to teach other Blacks 1820s – some Blacks attending universities in Northeast and Midwest Alexander Lucius Twilight -- first African American to graduate from an American college.