Sometimes names can be deceiving. While there may have been people labeled as ¨free blacks¨ these people weren't actually free. In 1860 there was about 476,000 free African Americans in the United States. 221,000 of these ¨free¨ African Americans lived in the North (BACKGROUND ESSAY). By this time a document called the Northwest Ordinance had passed in 1787, outlawing slavery in northwest territories (BACKGROUND ESSAY). As a result, most African Americans in the North were supposedly “free”. But actually how free were ¨free¨ blacks in the North? Discrimination and racial prejudice lingered, making the very little political, social, and economic freedoms they had mute.
Blacks in the North faced many restrictions on their political activity. One of the few rights blacks had in the majority of New England states, which included Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont, was the right to vote, except in Connecticut. Although they could vote in many of those states, they were not granted the right to serve jury duty, except in Massachusetts (DOC. A). They also were legally not allowed to represent in legislature (DOC.B).
In addition to lack of political freedoms they also were at a loss of social freedom. Segregation isolated the black population to extraordinary extents. …show more content…
In schools and the work force this made getting a decent education very difficult, which if they did manage to obtain, getting hired at a decent job was another daunting challenge. According to a speech given by an African American who was first in his class at his New York City free school in 1819 he explains how he has worked just as hard as his peers but yet he is worried about what he will will be forced to become due to his race. He asks “Shall I be a mechanic?”, “Shall I be a merchant?” because he believed “No one will have me in his office; white clerks won’t associate with me .”
Blacks in the North faced many restrictions on their political activity. One of the few rights blacks had in the majority of New England states, which included Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont, was the right to vote, except in Connecticut. Although they could vote in many of those states, they were not granted the right to serve jury duty, except in Massachusetts (DOC. A). They also were legally not allowed to represent in legislature (DOC.B).
In addition to lack of political freedoms they also were at a loss of social freedom. Segregation isolated the black population to extraordinary extents. …show more content…
In schools and the work force this made getting a decent education very difficult, which if they did manage to obtain, getting hired at a decent job was another daunting challenge. According to a speech given by an African American who was first in his class at his New York City free school in 1819 he explains how he has worked just as hard as his peers but yet he is worried about what he will will be forced to become due to his race. He asks “Shall I be a mechanic?”, “Shall I be a merchant?” because he believed “No one will have me in his office; white clerks won’t associate with me .”