CHAPTER SEVEN:



CHAPTER 7

FREE BLACK PEOPLE IN ANTEBELLUM AMERICA, 1820-1861

CHAPTER SUMMARY

The status, demographics, community institutions, difficulties, and advantages of free blacks varied by region in the United States during the antebellum period. The Jacksonian Era saw many improvements in life for white men, as the political process opened up and reform flourished in a variety of areas. The “Age of Democracy,” however, failed to spread equality to all races. Free blacks faced many difficulties in the North, as increased racism led to “black laws” restricting movement to certain states, disfranchisement in many Northern areas, as well as pervasive segregation in areas of transportation, education, and housing. Although life held challenges, strong, vibrant, black communities developed in the North. Black families, increasingly led by single women, struggled to make ends meet and often took in borders. Blacks remained limited to the most menial of employment, as employers frequently preferred to hire incoming white immigrant labor. The North, however, saw the development of a distinct black elite, replete with businessmen, clergy, doctors, lawyers, artists, musicians, and writers. In addition, black institutions, centered by the black church and including schools and voluntary associations, flourished and grew.

In the upper South, whites continued to remove distinctions between free blacks and slaves, restricting their movement and constantly threatening them with being sold into slavery. Until the 1850s, however, blacks in the upper South had more access to skilled jobs, as fewer white immigrants competed with them than in the North. In the deep South, a distinctive caste system with whites, free blacks, and slaves emerged. Free blacks, often of mixed race formed close ties with elite whites rather than the slave population. Because of these ties, free blacks in the deep South generally had a high literacy rate and three-quarters were employed in skilled trades.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. Understand the basic characteristics of the Jacksonian Era, and the influence of the period

on blacks.

2. Understand the limits placed on free blacks throughout the North, including the

development of black laws, disfranchisement, and segregation.

3. Understand the development of community institutions, the impact of slavery, the

relationship to dominant whites, and possibilities for employment in free black

communities in the North, the upper South, and the deep South.

TOPICS FOR LECTURES/LONG ESSAYS OR PAPERS/DISCUSSION

1. Discuss the disparities between the nomenclature of the “Age of Democracy” and the

reality for blacks and other groups. What types of changes were taking place at this time?

2. Discuss limits to black freedom in the North and South, including the legalization of

racial discrimination in segregation and disfranchisement laws in America.

3. Significant differences, and some similarities, existed between free black communities in

the North, upper South, and deep South. Discuss these characteristics and explain why

and how these similarities and differences exist.

4. Discuss the role gender and skin color played in the free black leadership of America’s

free communities.

LECTURE OUTLINE

I. Introduction

II. Demographics of Freedom

A. 1820 Statistics

B. 1860 Statistics

C. Urban Statistics

III. The Jacksonian Era

A. Industrialization

1. Transportation

2. Factory System

B. Political Changes

IV. Limited Freedom in the North

A. Fugitive Slave Law of 1793

B. Black Laws

1. Influence of Anglo-Saxonism

2. Ohio

3. Other Northern areas

C. Disfranchisement

1. Old Northwest

2. Northeast reaction/arguments

3. Arguments against black voting

D. Segregation

1. Buildings

2. Transportation

3. Social class

4. Effects

5. Neighborhoods

V. Black Communities in the Urban North

A. The Black Family

1. Increase in single-parent families

2. Boarding

B. The Struggle for Employment

1. Loss of skilled jobs to immigrants

2. Menial labor

C. The Northern Black Elite

1. Elite occupations

2. Role of complexion

3. Ties to lower classes

4. Entrepreneurs

D. Black Professionals

1. Physicians

2. Lawyers

E. Artists and Musicians

F. Black Authors

1. Autobiography

2. Literature

VI. African-American Institutions

A. Black Churches

1. Role as community centers

2. AME Churches

3. Discrimination within white denominations

4. Attendance at white churches

5. Criticism

B. Schools

1. System of segregation

2. Inadequate funding

3. Defense of black schools

4. Integration in Massachusetts

5. University education

C. Voluntary Associations

1. Mutual aid societies

2. Literary societies

3. Temperance societies

VII. Free African Americans in the Upper South

A. Comparison with Northern Counterparts

B. Impact of Slavery

C. Distinctions Narrowing Between Free and Slaves

D. Employment

E. Community Institutions

1. Effect of violent revolts

2. Churches

3. Schools/Voluntary institutions

VIII. Free African Americans in the Deep South

A. Caste System

B. Churches

C. Employment

D. Black Community

IX. Free African Americans in the Trans-Mississippi West

TEACHING RESOURCES

Instructor’s Resource CD-ROM

Powerpoint Presentations

Lecture Aids: Visuals (Maps, Images, Figures, Tables)

Chapter Timeline

Lecture Outline

PRS Content

Transparencies

T42 The Slave, Free Black, and White Population of the United States in 1830

T43 The Free Black, Slave, and White Population of the United States in 1820 and 1860

T44 The Free Black, Slave, and White Population by Region in 1860

T45 Black Population in the States of the Old Northwest, 1800-1840

T46 Free Black Population of Selected Cities, 1800-1850

T47 Early Black Literary Societies, 1828-1834

T48A Chapter 7 Timeline

T48B Chapter 7 Timeline

LEARNING RESOURCES AND ACTIVITIES

Skills for Life: Determining Relevance [text, p. 247]

Focus: Determine the relevance of three tables of political information to specific questions about the Market Revolution.

Instruct: Ask students to identify the information presented in each table. For example, ask students to identify the title and headings in Table A. Then have them summarize the information in that table. Repeat this process for Tables B and C. Finally, ask students how these three tables relate to one another and to the Market Revolution.

Exploring African-American History CD-ROM

(You can also access these resources on the Instructor’s Resource CD-ROM or go to , and enter webcode lie-0001.)

Map Exploration

[text, p. 218; aah/map7.1]

The Slave, Free Black, and White Population of the United States in 1830

Documents

7-1 “Reflections, Occasioned by the Late Disturbances in Charleston,” 1822

7-2 Richard Allen, “Address to the Free People of Colour of these United States,” 1830

7-3 Thomas R. Dew’s Defense of Slavery, 1832

7-4 Maria Stewart, “The Miseries We Tasted,” 1835

7-5 Senator Sees Slavery as a “Positive Good,” 1837

7-6 Sarah Mapps Douglass, Letter to William Basset, 1837

7-7 North Carolina Codes, 1855

7-8 An African-American Novel Critiques Racism in the North, 1859

Companion Website

Direct students to aah for additional resources for this chapter.

ANSWER KEYS

GUIDE TO READING

SECTION 1 Freedom, p. 217

What were the demographics of black freedom?

In 1820 there were 233,504 free black people living in the United States. Slightly more free black people lived in the upper South than in the North. More black women than black men were free. By 1860, the number of free African Americans had increased to 488,070, but free blacks made up a smaller percentage of the overall population.

How did the policies of the Jacksonian Democrats favor slaveholders?

Jackson and Democrats promoted states’ rights and economic localism. They also supported the expansion of the territory in which slavery was legal. Racist appeals to antiblack prejudices became a mainstay of Democratic political rhetoric.

SECTION 2 Limits of Freedom, p. 221

How was black freedom limited in the North?

The Fugitive Slave Law endangered the freedom of blacks living in the North. Not only could escaped slaves be recaptured, free blacks were often kidnapped into slavery. Black laws limited the migration of free blacks. With exception of New England, disfranchisement of black voters was common. Finally, segregation was the norm throughout the North.

What were black laws and why were they enacted?

Black laws were laws designed to restrict the migration of free blacks. Most white northerners wanted no contact with blacks. They believed they were inferior and incapable of honest and moral lives. Moreover, they feared black competition for jobs. Finally, they thought contact with blacks would degrade white society.

What steps did northern states take to deny free African Americans the right to vote?

Some states passed constitutional amendments that barred blacks from voting. Others implemented property qualifications for voting that effectively barred the vast majority of

African Americans. In many cases, these property qualifications applied to blacks, but not to whites.

SECTION 3 Black Communities in the Urban North, p. 227

What were the characteristics of Northern black communities?

Black communities varied from city to city, but had much in common with each other. They were characterized by resilient families, poverty, class divisions, active church congregations, the development of voluntary organizations, and concern for education.

Describe the typical free black family living in a northern city during the antebellum period.

The average black family in northern cities had two parents and two to four children. However,

over time, single-parent families headed by women became more common. This may have reflected the problems black men faced finding employment. It was also a function of the high mortality rate among black men.

How did the northern black elite gain financial security during the antebellum period?

Segregated neighborhoods gave rise to a black professional class. Black merchants gained wealth selling to black communities. Skilled African Americans who found work among white people also were able to achieve relative economic success. The black elite also featured a small number of successful entrepreneurs.

SECTION 4 African-American Institutions, p. 235

What institutions did African Americans rely on most?

Black institutions included schools, mutual aid organizations, benevolent and fraternal societies, self-improvement and temperance associations, literary groups, newspapers, and theaters. However, the institutions they relied on most were churches.

What role did black churches play in free black communities?

Black churches were central to free black communities. They functioned as community centers.

They housed schools. They provided meeting places for antislavery meetings. They harbored

runaway slaves. They were the vehicles black ministers used to help lead their communities.

Why did most black children receive an inadequate education in the antebellum period?

Inadequate public funding was the basic cause of poor education for most black children. The

few black schools were dilapidated and overcrowded. Teachers received lower pay than those

who taught in white schools, contributing to poor teaching.

SECTION 5 Free African Americans, p. 240

How did free African Americans live in the South and in the West?

There were relatively few free blacks in the deep South and West. Most free African Americans in the South identified with their former masters more than with slaves. There were often close ties between free blacks and white elites. Black laws restricted the migration of free blacks to the West. Blacks in the West often lived in multicultural communities.

What were the most important differences between free black communities in the North and those in the upper South?

A smaller percentage of free blacks in the upper South lived in cities, making it harder to develop

black communities. More important, unlike black northerners, free blacks in the upper South

lived alongside slaves. Many had family ties to slaves and were more closely involved with the

suffering of the enslaved. Free blacks in the upper South were also more at risk of being enslaved themselves.

Describe the three-caste system in the deep South.

The three-caste system was composed of white people, free black people, and slaves. Most free Africa Americans in the region identified more with their former masters than with slaves. To

ensure their loyalty, powerful white people offered free blacks special privileges and economic advantages. Some states required free African Americans to have white guardians.

SKILLS FOR LIFE

Determining Relevance, p. 247

1. Table A compares candidates, parties, the popular elections of 1824 and 1828. Table B compares electoral votes cast in slave states and free states in 1828. Table C summarizes the viewpoints of candidates Adams and Jackson about key election issues.

2. (a) Tables B and C. (b) Table C. (c) Table B.

3. (a) By using Table C to discover which candidate supported those views (Adams), then using Table B to see which candidate was supported by free states and slave states. (b) You could use Table A to show that, in the election of 1828, Jackson had more than twice as many electoral votes as Adams, but the difference in the popular vote was only about 140,000 votes out of approximately one million cast.

CHAPTER REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT

Reviewing Key Terms, p. 250

1. market revolution

The transformation of the North into a modern industrial society.

2. Erie Canal

Canal that opened a water route from New York City to the Old Northwest.

3. suffrage

The right to vote.

4. industrialization

The development of industrial modes of production.

5. Democratic Party

Party created Andrew Jackson’s supporters, led by Martin Van Buren.

6. Nullification Crisis

1832 – 1833 crisis over South Carolina’s effort to nullify the collection of the U.S. tariff on imports within the state.

7. Whig Party

Party formed by Henry Clay and others in the early 1830s in opposition to Andrew Jackson and the Democrats.

8. Black laws

Laws designed to restrict the migration of blacks.

9. disfranchisement

To deprive of the right to vote.

10. franchise

The right to vote.

11. Jim Crow

Term associated with segregated public spaces and amenities.

12. segregation

The practice of separating people on the basis of race.

13. temperance

Abstinence from the use of alcoholic beverages.

14. African Dorcas Associations

Societies that distributed used clothing to the poor.

15. free papers

Documents free blacks in the upper South had to carry at all times and which were subject to periodic renewal.

16. tenant farmers

Farmers who cultivated rented land.

17. three-caste system

System that developed in the deep South that divided the population into whites, free blacks, and slaves.

Reviewing Main Ideas, p. 250

18. Northerners limited black freedom by enacting black laws, by rarely allowing black men to vote, by advocating segregated housing, schools, and transportation, and by limiting African Americans' employment opportunities.

19. In the face of these limitations, African Americans living in ghettoized urban communities cultivated a dynamic cultural legacy that built enduring institutions.

20. Segregation and discriminatory legislation applied to all blacks, thus these two distinct classes of people shared a common culture and history. Many black elite took on professional positions as merchants, physicians, lawyers and ministers who exclusively served the urban black communities.

21. As a result of growing black populations, the exertions of the African-American elite, and the persistence of racial exclusion and segregation, black institutions became stronger, more numerous and more varied.

22. Free African Americans in the North possessed opportunities their southern counterparts did not enjoy. Unlike their northern counterparts, free blacks in the upper South lived alongside slaves, many of which with whom they had family ties. Southern white politicians used this close connection between free black southerners and slaves to justify limiting the freedom of the former group. Additionally, upper South free blacks were more at risk of being enslaved then were black northerners. They had difficulties traveling, owning firearms, congregating in groups, earning a living and maintaining community institutions. Free blacks in the deep South were far fewer than in either the upper South or the North. They identified more closely with their former masters than with slaves. They remained in white churches, and were more concentrated in urban areas than in either the North or the upper South. They also held stronger positions in the skilled trades. Free black people in California were rare. Black Californians lived and worked in multicultural communities, many of whom were gold prospectors. Slowly black communities began to develop, which were centered on churches.

Analyzing Documents, p. 251

The Constitution of the Pittsburgh African Education Society

This society was necessary to improve and educate black society so that blacks were no longer susceptible to degradation.

Name _________________________________________________ Date __________________

CHAPTER 7

FREE BLACK PEOPLE IN ANTEBELLUM AMERICA, 1820–1861

Chapter Test 7A

1. Before the Civil War, prejudice against blacks was common in the North and the South:

a. resulting in many slave rebellions.

b. in fact, free blacks had to carry papers to prove their freedom.

c. and Northerners were sometimes more hostile than Southerners.

d. as a result of the frequent sexual occurrences between the races.

2. Slightly more free black people lived in the upper South, and throughout the period, more:

a. men were free than women.

b. women were free than men.

c. than one out of every three blacks were free.

d. than three times the number of women were free than the number of men.

3. The largest black urban population in the North was in:

a. Philadelphia.

b. New York City.

c. Providence.

d. Jersey City.

4. The Fugitive Slave Law of 1793 extended to the northern states the power of southern slaveholders to enslave Africans and:

a. rendered blacks enslaved for life.

b. later included this power to the West as well.

c. allowed northern blacks to be seized and returned to the South.

d. as a result of the abolition movement, blacks had to go underground.

5. Opponents of universal white male suffrage argued it would be to extend the same privilege to black men:

a. meaning they would have to be taught to read in order to vote.

b. because in certain places black men would be elected to office.

c. which meant separate voting booths would have to be constructed.

d. because white men did not want to represent the rights of black men.

6. African Americans in the North were confined to dreadful ghettos, which provided a refuge from constant insult:

a. and created places where black institutions could develop.

b. and helped to avoid being caught by slave catchers.

c. thereby limiting their contact with whites.

d. and stereotypes about them being lazy.

7. In 1830s and 1840s, Frederick Douglass criticized the existence of separate black congregations and denominations as:

a. “negro pews, on a higher and larger scale.”

b. racist people who were doomed to hell.

c. hypocrites who were not Christians at heart.

d. segregationists who were the anti-Christ.

8. White people lowered the quality of education for black children:

a. because black families couldn’t pay the taxes.

b. claiming they lacked the mental capacity for education.

c. because they couldn’t find teachers qualified to teach in the black schools.

d. because they could not keep up with the white children in schoolwork.

9. Racially integrated schools and public funding for segregated black schools were out of the question in the South because:

a. most black children received no formal education.

b. black schools were left out of state budgets.

c. it was against the law to teach blacks to read and write.

d. until white sympathizers opened schools for black children.

10. Between 1849 and 1852, more than 2,000 African Americans went to California

because:

a. it came into the Union as a free state.

b. it was a much freer and open society.

c. of the Gold Rush.

d. they needed railroad workers.

Name _________________________________________________ Date __________________

CHAPTER 7

FREE BLACK PEOPLE IN ANTEBELLUM AMERICA, 1820–1861

Chapter Test 7B

1. Southern legislatures wanted to expel free blacks from their states, while Northerners did not want them to enter their states:

a. because of their religious fervor and the practice of voodoo.

b. because a shortage of housing for the white population.

c. because of the “taxation without representation” clause in the Constitution.

d. for fear of competition for jobs.

2. In 1820, there were more blacks living in the United States than whites, and:

a. most of them lived in the deep South and worked on plantations.

b. most of the free blacks lived in the upper South.

c. most of the free blacks lived in the North.

d. most of them lived in the North in urban areas.

3. Whigs generally adopted a more conciliatory tone regarding race; by the 1830s:

a. Whigs consistently nominated slaveholders for the presidency.

b. Whigs consistently nominated abolitionists for the presidency.

c. Whig candidates were consistently defeated in the presidential races.

d. Whig candidates consistently won the presidential races.

4. The “black laws” in Ohio were used to:

a. defeat the passage of laws in favor of interracial marriage.

b. keep blacks from buying territory in the area.

c. allow slave owners to settle in the state along with their slaves.

d. prevent blacks from testifying against whites, serve on juries, or enlist in the state militia.

5. In Massachusetts in 184l, the term “Jim Crow,” which derived from a black-face minstrel act, was first used to describe:

a. the white actor in the show.

b. the monkey used in the act.

c. segregated railroad cars.

d. a character in a book named after the black-face.

6. James McCune Smith, the first African American to earn a medical degree, graduated from ________, and practiced medicine until 1874.

a. Howard University in Washington, D.C., in 1837

b. Oxford University in London, England in 1837

c. Hampton University in Virginia in 1837

d. The University of Glasgow in Scotland in 1837

7. In 1853, William Wells Brown, an escaped slave and one of the first African-American novelists, used his book to write about:

a. what it must be like to live in Africa again.

b. love stories between enslaved black men and white women.

c. the affair between Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings.

d. black orphaned children.

8. Founded in 1854, Ashmum Institute in Oxford, Pennsylvania was later renamed Lincoln University and was:

a. the forerunner to Booker T. Washington’s Career Institute.

b. named after Abraham Lincoln, an outspoken abolitionist.

c. the first institution for higher learning for blacks.

d. the first black beauty culture school.

9. In 1829, Elizabeth Clovis Lange, who was of Haitian descent, established the Oblate Sisters of Providence:

a. to teach white Catholics French so they could send missionaries to Haiti.

b. which was the first black Roman Catholic religious order in the

United States.

c. which was not accepted by the Roman Catholic Church.

d. but she was forced to move to Haiti, where she continued her school for girls.

10. Because black churches were rare in the cities of the deep South, wealthy African-American and fraternal organizations:

a. held private worship services in their homes.

b. were more atheists than Christian.

c. were non-existent in the lower South.

d. organized private schools to educate black children.

Name _________________________________________________ Date __________________

CHAPTER 7

FREE BLACK PEOPLE IN ANTEBELLUM AMERICA, 1820–1861

IDENTIFICATION

For each of the following, identify by answering the questions, who? what? when? and where? Describe the significance by answering the questions, Why is this important? Why do we study this?

Samuel Cornish

War of 1812

Robert Fulton

Erie Canal

National Road

suffrage

John Quincy Adams

Andrew Jackson

Henry Clay

Democratic Party

Martin Van Buren

Nullification Crisis

tariff

Whig Party

abolitionist

Fugitive Slave Law of 1793

Richard Allen

Anglo-Saxon

“black laws”

Ohio Free Soil Party

disfranchisement

Jim Crow

Elizabeth Jenkins

Frederick Douglass

James Forten

John Redmond

Louis Hayden

Henry Boyd

Stephen Smith

James McCune Smith

James Still

Martin Delaney

Macon Allen

Name _________________________________________________ Date __________________

CHAPTER 7

FREE BLACK PEOPLE IN ANTEBELLUM AMERICA, 1820–1861

IDENTIFICATION

For each of the following, identify by answering the questions, who? what? when? and where? Describe the significance by answering the questions, Why is this important? Why do we study this?

Robert Morris

Robert Douglass

Robert Duncanson

Patrick Reason

Edmona Lewis

Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield

Stephen Smith and William Whipper

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

William C. Nell

William Wells Brown

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper

Harriet E. Wilson

African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church

AME Mother Bethel Church

AME Zion Church

William Jay

Quakers

African Free Schools

Ashmum Institute/Lincoln University

Wilberforce University

Oberlin College

African Dorcas Associations

New York City’s Association for the Benefit of Colored Orphans

Colored Seamen’s Home

Prince Hall Masons

Black Odd Fellows Lodges

free papers

Nat Turner

Nat Turner Rebellion

John F. Cook

Colored Female Roman Catholic Beneficial Society

“Mammy Pleasant”

Answer Key Chapter Test 7A

1. c; (p. 216)

2. b; (p. 217)

3. a; (p. 217)

4. c; (p. 221)

5. b; (p. 224)

6. a; (p. 226)

7. a; (p. 236)

8. b; (p. 237)

9. a; (p. 242)

10. c; (p. 246)

Answer Key Chapter Test 7B

1. d; (p. 216)

2. b; (p. 217)

3. a; (p. 220)

4. d; (p. 222)

5. c. (p. 225)

6. d. (p. 231)

7. c; (p. 233)

8. c; (p. 238)

9. b; (p. 243)

10. d; (p. 244)

OBJECTIVE/ANALYTICAL QUESTIONS

Demographics of Freedom

1. What is true of the free black population in America from the period from 1820 to 1860?

a. Most of the free population was over the age of 55.

b. The actual number of free blacks went down over this period.

c. More women than men were free.

d. Few of the free blacks lived in the cities.

(Answer: c; page 217) [Factual]

2. Where was the largest free black urban population in the period between 1820 and 1860?

a. Philadelphia

b. New York

c. Virginia

d. Massachusetts

(Answer: a; page 217) [Factual]

3. Examine Map 7-1. Which slave states had the highest percentages of free blacks? Why?

(Answer, page 218) [Conceptual]

4. How did the free black population change from 1820 to 1860?

(Answer, pages 217–218) [Factual]

The Jacksonian Era

5. Before the Industrial Revolution could have much of an effect in America, what had to be

greatly improved?

a. number of banks and amount of capital

b. agricultural improvements to feed workers

c. transportation

d. labor relations

(Answer: c; page 219) [Factual]

6. What did the Democratic Party and the Whig Party have in common?

a. They were both against the spread of slavery to the territories.

b. They really had nothing in common, since they were opposing parties.

c. They both favored secession by the South.

d. They were both led by slaveholders, and neither really championed black rights.

(Answer: d; page 220) [Conceptual]

7. Which party supported Andrew Jackson and opposed John Quincy Adams?

(Answer: Democratic; page 220) [Factual]

8. Which party formed to oppose the Democrats after the fall of the Republicans?

(Answer: Whigs; page 220) [Factual]

9. What led to the formation of the Whig and Democratic parties? What beliefs did each party

hold?

(Answer, pages 219–220) [Factual]

10. What types of economic, social, and political changes were going on in America between

1820 and 1860?

(Answer, pages 217–220) [Factual]

Limits of Freedom

11. Most white Northerners in the period from 1820 to 1860:

a. were generally more liberal than Southerners in race issues.

b. wanted nothing to do with blacks, and had the same kind of racist ideas as Southerners.

c. were about equally divided between those who wanted slavery to continue and those who fought against it.

d. thought that blacks were very hard, honest workers, and would take jobs away from them.

(Answer: b; page 221) [Factual]

12. Why was the Fugitive Slave Law of 1793 considered a danger to free blacks?

a. White masters could have fugitive slaves shot on sight, and frequently did.

b. The federal government, for the very first time, demonstrated that it endorsed and supported slavery.

c. Any black Northerner, under the terms of this law, could be kidnapped and forced into slavery in the South.

d. Most never worried about the law; it was rarely enforced or used.

(Answer: c; page 221) [Factual]

13. What were “black laws”?

a. They were laws that set up certain rights for blacks, including some rights previously held by whites only.

b. They were laws that made it more difficult for blacks to come into an area.

c. They were laws that forbid blacks from entering certain professions such as law and medicine.

d. All of these answers are correct.

(Answer: b; page 222) [Factual]

14. What types of laws did Indiana, Michigan, Iowa, and Wisconsin pass regarding black citizens

in their states?

a. They all allowed blacks to vote, and banned segregation.

b. They all pushed for women’s rights well before the beginning of the national women’s rights movement.

c. They banned all blacks from the state in their constitutions.

d. They tried to bring slavery into their states, but failed.

(Answer: c; page 223) [Factual]

15. When property qualifications were removed from voting requirements in most states during the Age of Jackson:

a. elites disfranchised black men.

b. elites continued to allow those wealthy black men who could vote to keep that privilege.

c. elites opened the voting process to black women as well.

d. None of these answers is correct.

(Answer: a; page 223) [Factual]

16. How did whites justify taking the vote away from blacks while enfranchising more white

men?

a. They thought that whites would be angry and start violence.

b. They did not want blacks to gain political power.

c. They thought that it would encourage blacks to seek social equality with whites.

d. All of these answers are correct.

(Answer: d; page 223) [Conceptual]

17. What generalization can be made about New England and middle states and the

enfranchisement of black men?

a. Because racism was strong in the North as well as the South, all of these states disenfranchised black voters.

b. All of these states allowed all black men to vote.

c. All of these states limited black men and women’s voting in some way.

d. Generalizations are impossible; some states forbid black voting, some continued to allow it, and some merely limited it in some way.

(Answer: d; pages 223–224) [Conceptual]

18. How did New York deal with voting requirements for blacks?

a. It allowed both black and white women to vote, with no property requirements.

b. It completely eliminated the right to vote for all blacks.

c. It eliminated the property requirement for whites, but continued to have it for black men.

d. It refused to change its property requirements for either whites or blacks.

(Answer: c; page 224) [Factual]

19. What form of discrimination did all free blacks in urban areas face in the North?

a. Disfranchisement

b. Segregation

c. Inability to own property

d. All of these answers are correct.

(Answer: b; page 224) [Factual]

20. From where did the term “Jim Crow” come to describe segregation?

a. Jim Crow was the first African American to challenge the segregation of public facilities in court.

b. It was a black-face minstrel act of the 1840s.

c. Jim Crow was a derogatory term for a scarecrow, often used by agricultural blacks.

d. The origins of “Jim Crow” are completely unknown.

(Answer: b; page 225) [Factual]

21. Which of the following statements about segregation is true?

a. The “better classes” of blacks were sometimes allowed into facilities reserved for whites.

b. Blacks faced many difficulties in trying to ride public transportation, although they often had no choice but to attempt to ride them.

c. Segregation was apparent only in the South.

d. All of these answers are correct.

(Answer: b; pages 225–226) [Factual]

22. What were some of the results of racial segregation?

a. Black and white relations were often quite good, since whites felt superior.

b. Blacks began to be separated by class, since upper-class blacks did not have to deal with segregation as much.

c. Blacks lived in segregated communities in northern cities.

d. None of these answers is correct.

(Answer: c; page 226) [Conceptual]

23. What beliefs did many white Northerners have about African Americans? How were these

beliefs put into action?

(Answer, pages 221–223) [Factual]

24. What party brought about the repeal of Ohio’s black laws?

(Answer: The Ohio Free Soil Party; page 222) [Factual]

25. What was ironic about the movement to make voting equal during the Age of Jackson?

(Answer, pages 221–224) [Conceptual]

26. How did different states in the Northeast and the middle states deal with black voters? What

accounted for the differences in the states?

(Answer, pages 223–224) [Conceptual]

27. What was the term used to describe segregated facilities?

(Answer: Jim Crow; page 225) [Factual]

28. How did many northern states react to blacks in the period from 1820 to 1860? What does

this tell us about the racial tensions in American society at the time?

(Answer, pages 221–225) [Conceptual]

29. Describe the system of social segregation that permeated the North during the antebellum

period. What was denied to blacks?

(Answer, pages 224–226) [Factual]

30. What were some of the causes and results of segregating housing/neighborhoods for blacks?

(Answer, pages 226) [Conceptual]

Black Communities in the Urban North

31. How did the free black family in the North change in the time period between 1820 and

1860?

a. The number of two-parent households began to increase as more slaves were freed.

b. More families became single-parent households, with women heading them.

c. The number of two-parent households remained steady.

d. Black families began having more children, on average, than white families.

(Answer: b; page 227) [Conceptual]

32. Why did black families often have boarders?

a. Because whites forced them to have an overseer keeping track of activities.

b. For protection from white violence, since many boarders were young men, and many families were headed by women.

c. For economic considerations, since they needed the money.

d. Housing was at an all-time low, and people did not have very many places to stay.

(Answer: c; page 228) [Factual]

33. Why was it difficult for blacks to find jobs in the North after 1820?

a. There were very few jobs in the North after 1820.

b. White immigration increased, and employers preferred to hire whites.

c. Racism began in the North only after 1820.

d. All of these answers are correct.

(Answer: b; page 228) [Factual]

34. What types of skilled jobs were black men able to find?

a. Ironwork or bricklayers

b. Newspaper journalists

c. House servants

d. Shoemakers or barbers

(Answer: d; page 228) [Factual]

35. What types of jobs were black women able to find?

a. Shoemakers or barbers

b. Domestic servants or seamstresses

c. Secretarial or clerical work

d. Waitresses in restaurants

(Answer: b; page 228) [Factual]

36. Which of the following was not true about the black elite?

a. The black elite could serve as a bridge between liberal whites and the black community.

b. They were often clergy, black professionals, or businessmen who had attained some status in a segregated community.

c. Complexion played no role in status in urban areas.

d. None of these answers is correct.

(Answer: c; page 229) [Factual]

37. What is true about black doctors during the time period?

a. There were very few of them, since they were not allowed into American medical schools, and you could not practice medicine without a degree and a license.

b. They always faced very high levels of violence from whites who thought they were dangerous.

c. Some used natural, herbal remedies and became quite successful.

d. All of these answers are correct.

(Answer: c; page 231) [Factual]

38. What themes did many black authors during the antebellum period emphasize?

a. Slavery and the contradictions between it and American stated values.

b. That if blacks trusted in God, slavery would end.

c. The kindness of many Northerners and the evils of many Southerners.

d. Black authors generally tried to mimic white authors, and looked at many of the same themes.

(Answer: a; page 233) [Factual]

39. Why did some single-parent households increase during the 1820 to 1860 period?

(Answer, pages 227–228) [Conceptual]

40. What general trends were used to characterize black families during this period?

(Answer, pages 227–228) [Factual]

41. What motivated many blacks in port cities to become sailors?

(Answer, pages 228–229) [Factual]

42. What roles did black elites serve in African-American communities?

(Answer, pages 229–231) [Conceptual]

43. Who was the first African American to graduate from medical school?

(Answer: James McCune Smith; page 231) [Factual]

44. Who was the first African American to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court?

(Answer: John S. Rock; page 231) [Factual]

45. What types of difficulties did black lawyers and doctors face?

(Answer, page 231) [Factual]

46. What types of jobs could African Americans obtain in the North? What does that say about

their opportunities?

(Answer, pages 229–231) [Conceptual]

47. Which African-American singer earned the nickname “The Black Swan”?

(Answer: Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield; page 233) [Factual]

48. Discuss some of the contributions by blacks to art and music of the times.

(Answer, pages 231–233) [Factual]

49. What themes and subjects did African-American authors focus on?

(Answer, pages 233–234) [Factual]

African-American Institutions

50. Where were the two largest African Methodist Episcopal churches?

a. Virginia and New Orleans

b. New York City and Philadelphia

c. Massachusetts and Vermont

d. Rhode Island and New York

(Answer: b; page 235) [Factual]

51. Why did separate black congregations begin to be criticized within the black community?

a. Some, including Frederick Douglass, thought that they were just another example of segregation in American society.

b. Some thought that black ministers were being far too intellectual and not speaking to the common black member.

c. Some thought that the black churches should be more involved with the community, rather than simply holding worship services.

d. All of these answers are correct.

(Answer: d; page 236) [Conceptual]

52. What was not the result of inadequate public funding for black schools in the North?

a. Teaching suffered, since the pay was so low.

b. Many Northerners, even those who favored abolition, thought that black students were poorer intellectually.

c. Some black leaders began to push for integrated schools in the North.

d. White teachers refused to teach there at all.

(Answer: c; pages 237–238) [Conceptual]

53. What were Frederick Douglass and other abolitionist leaders able to do to Massachusetts’

public schools?

a. They were able to get city leaders to allow all-black schools to be established.

b. They were able to desegregate the schools, including those in Boston, by 1855.

c. They were able to push for African history to be taught as well as white European history.

d. They were able to get city leaders to pay black teachers the same as white teachers.

(Answer: b; page 238) [Factual]

54. What was true about blacks’ admission to institutions of higher learning?

a. It was often easier to come by than primary education.

b. No college or university in the North allowed students of both races to attend.

c. Higher education for blacks was very similar to college today.

d. All of these answers are correct.

(Answer: a; page 238) [Factual]

55. How were black and white voluntary associations similar during the antebellum period?

a. Black and white associations were very different in tactics and ideas.

b. They both drew on a reform spirit of the time, focusing on many of the same issues and concerns.

c. Blacks focused solely on abolishing slavery.

d. Black women were rarely able to join voluntary associations, but white women could join if they wanted.

(Answer: b; page 239) [Conceptual]

56. What types of organizations did black women seem attracted to in the antebellum period?

a. Women’s rights organizations, especially those stressing the right to vote

b. Poetry and reading clubs

c. Mutual aid organizations, especially those that helped the poor and disadvantaged

d. None of these answers is correct.

(Answer: c; page 239) [Factual]

57. Why did black institutions become more varied and numerous during the antebellum period?

(Answer, page 235) [Conceptual]

58. What black institution continued to be the center of black communities?

(Answer: the church; page 235) [Factual]

59. How did Stephen Smith and William Whipper use their wealth to better conditions for other

African Americans?

(Answer, page 230) [Conceptual]

60. How did black churches function during the antebellum period?

(Answer, pages 235–236) [Conceptual]

61. Discuss the types of problems blacks faced in getting an education for their children.

(Answer, pages 237–238) [Factual]

62. What was the most famous biracial university during the antebellum period?

(Answer: Oberlin College in Ohio; page 238) [Factual]

63. Discuss some of the characteristics of black voluntary societies in the period. How did

gender and class play a role in the types of activities blacks were involved in? How did they

compare to white efforts?

(Answer, page 239) [Conceptual]

The Upper South

64. What was not a difference between free blacks in the upper South and in the North?

a. Fewer free blacks lived in cities in the North than in the upper South.

b. Free blacks in the upper South could be quickly sold into slavery to pay for the cost of their arrest, or to pay off debts.

c. Free blacks in the upper South were always assumed by whites to be slaves unless they could prove otherwise.

d. None of these answers is correct.

(Answer: d; pages 240–243) [Conceptual]

65. Regarding employment, free blacks in the upper South:

a. were never hired by whites, since they could get free slave labor.

b. faced less competition from immigrants until the 1850s, and therefore could get jobs in industry more easily than blacks in the North.

c. were skilled workers, such as carpenters, bakers, and barbers.

d. All of these answers are correct.

(Answer: b; page 241) [Factual]

66. Discuss the differences and similarities between free slaves of the North and free slaves of the upper South.

(Answer, pages 240–243) [Conceptual]

67. Why did whites limit free black activity? How did they do it?

(Answer, pages 241–243) [Conceptual]

The Deep South

68. How were the lives of free blacks in the deep South different from the lives of free blacks in the Upper South?

a. They were much fewer in number in the deep South, as it was harder to become free.

b. Free blacks in the deep South were generally of mixed race.

c. A sophisticated caste system developed in the deep South, with free blacks often more closely identifying with the white masters than slaves.

d. All of these answers are correct.

(Answer: d; pages 243–245) [Conceptual]

69. Which of the following is not true about free blacks in the deep South, as compared to free

blacks in the North or upper South?

a. Free blacks in the deep South maintained more tenuous ties to whites.

b. Free black men in the deep South had more access to skilled trades.

c. Free blacks in the deep South were less concentrated in urban areas.

d. None of these answers is correct.

(Answer: b; page 244) [Conceptual]

70. Black communities in the deep South:

a. failed to develop, since whites cracked down so hard on the free population.

b. developed slowly and with few fraternal organizations, and more free blacks remained illiterate compared to other sections of the country.

c. developed with many of the same institutions as in the upper South and North, except that black communities often lacked a separate church.

d. developed with exactly the same pattern as in other regions of the country.

(Answer: c; page 244) [Factual]

71. Why did a close relationship exist between free blacks and whites in the deep South?

(Answer, pages 243–245) [Conceptual]

72. What were some differences between the lives of free blacks in the deep South and those

who lived elsewhere?

(Answer, pages 243–245) [Conceptual]

Free African Americans in the Trans-Mississippi West

73. What differences or similarities do you see for free African Americans in the trans-

Mississippi West versus other areas of the country?

(Answer, page 246) [Conceptual]

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