Before and during the civil war, although blacks in the north were considered “Free”, this was not entirely the case. They were still not considered equal to white people, and In many places,could not even vote.Some people still held them as slaves, and some would even send them back to the south. People without much knowledge on this subject might say that the north was the “Promised land” to the blacks, but in all truthfulness, this could not be further from the truth.
Blacks in the north were still very restricted. They could not associate with whites or hold even a semi-decent job. They had to have their own churches and those that worked were paid less than whites in the same job.Fourteen out of fifteen states in the north would not allow blacks to be on a jury, and ten out of fifteen either did not allow blacks to vote at all, or restricted them and made them pay to vote.
Despite their restrictions, blacks were able to have a basic job, and could practice religion. They could marry amongst themselves and even vote in some places. Blacks could own a business if they had the money,and could run it as they pleased.They formed ghettos in places like Boston, and were relatively happy compared to those in the south.
Unfortunately, whites did not consider them equals in any sense of the word, and restrictions in voting, jobs, religion,etc., were not the full extent of this. Most whites would not associate with blacks, and would not marry a black ever.Some whites would not even allow the blacks to be in the north, and sent them back south. Some still treated them like slaves.
To put it simply, blacks were very restricted, and despite what freedoms they had, it was not even close to perfect. Whites did not treat the blacks with respect,and treated them almost as badly as if they were in the south. It was still relatively nice for blacks in the north, and I believe that while compared to blacks in the south, blacks in the north were free, but compared with whites in either the north or south, they were caged animals with nowhere to go.
Works Cited
Delgado,
Yennifer, Francis Orozco, Nicole Plummer, and Jackie Rivas. "Slavery in
the Western Hemisphere:Â Free Blacks in the North." Slavery in the Western Hemisphere:Â Free Blacks in the North. Web. 12 Mar. 2012. <http://cghs.dadeschools.net/slavery/free_blacks/free.blacks.north.htm>.
Harper, Douglas. "Northern Exclusion of Blacks." Slavery in the North. Web. 12 Mar. 2012. <http://www.slavenorth.com/exclusion.htm>.
Harper, Douglas. "Slavery in the North." Slavery in the North. Web. 12 Mar. 2012. <http://www.slavenorth.com/slavenorth.htm>.
"How Free Were Blacks in the North?" Http://www2.rps205.com.
Web. 12 Mar. 2012.
<http://www2.rps205.com/Parents/Academics/Learning/SocialStudies/Documents/DBQs/FreeBlacksNorthDBQstudent.pdf>.
