The “Free” North of the 1800s
History books have long taught slavery in a way that depicted the South as pro-slavery and the North as where freedom reigned. While the South was pro-slavery, exactly where the North stood on the issue is a bit murky. There were many abolitionists and anti-slavery advocate that were active in the northern colonies and territories, but the idea of a free black man still unnerved many people. Though slavery was not officially abolished by the United States government until 1865 with the passing of the 13th Amendment, certain states took it upon themselves to outlaw slavery in their respective region. The abolition of slavery in 1802 by the Ohio Constitution was decades ahead of the nation as a whole with regards to slavery. However, just because slavery was outlawed, free black men still had extreme restrictions placed on them. Like their slave counterparts, free blacks lived an incredibly restrictive existence due to “Black Laws.” Blacks petitioned against these laws, but were told by the state legislature that they did not have the right to petition the government for anything whatsoever.
In some places, Northern freemen were required to carry passes when traveling in some places, and in others they were forbidden to own property. Voting was out of the question, as most northern states passed disfranchisement laws, but despite this, free blacks were still taxed in New England. Some rules varied state to state, such as in Massachusetts, free blacks were required to work on roads a certain number of days in a year. In Boston, they could not carry a cane unless they were unable to walk without one.
Pennsylvania colonies passed the “Act for the better Regulation of Negroes” that set penalties for any free blacks who harbored runaway slaves or received stolen property from masters. These penalties were often much higher than those for their white counterparts. Additionally, “if the considerable fines could not be paid, the justices had the power to order a free black person put into servitude. Under other provisions of the act, free blacks who married whites were to be sold into slavery for life; for mere fornication or adultery involving blacks and whites, the penalty for the black person was to be sold as a servant for seven years. Throughout Pennsylvania colony, the children of free blacks, without exception, were bound out by the local justices of the peace until age 24 (if male) or 21 (if female).”
Similar to the enforcement of slave laws in the South and Midwest, adherence to these race laws was selective. The real “value” of such laws was the simple harassment and the constant threat being held over these individuals. Calling it ‘freedom’ seems like a sugar-coating on a still ugly fact. That so-called freedom was a notion that was held precariously at the tolerance of the whites. Even after the end of the Civil War, 19 of 24 Northern states did not allow blacks to vote. Nowhere did they serve on juries before 1860. They could not give testimony in 10 states, and were prevented from assembling in two. Several western states had prohibited free blacks from entering the state. Blacks who entered Illinois and stayed more than 10 days were guilty of “high misdemeanor.”
Alexis de Tocqueville sums up exactly the comparison between the “free” North and the slavery south:
“So the Negro [in the North] is free, but he cannot share the rights, pleasures, labors, griefs, or even the tomb of him whose equal he has been declared; there is nowhere where he can meet him, neither in life nor in death.
In the South, where slavery still exists, less trouble is taken to keep the Negro apart: they sometimes share the labors and the pleasures of the white men; people are prepared to mix with them to some extent; legislation is more harsh against them, but customs are more tolerant and gentle.”
Works Cited
Harper, Douglas. “Exclusion of Free Blacks.” Slavery in the North. Douglas Harper, 2003. Web. 31 Mar 2010. <http://www.slavenorth.com/exclusion.htm>.
(1800 Census) http://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/1800-return-whole-number-of-persons.pdf
http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/ht/39.2/images/rael_fig03b.jpg
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