I'm in Lexington, Virginia for a few days as my 4th Class cadet is finishing up the year at VMI. That's been a very interesting experience and I could do a whole thread on that.

But, the reason for this post is that I made a wrong turn today in Lexington and stumbled on to a historical marker for the "Original African American Cemetery" in Lexington. The sign includes this text

Quote:

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Near the intersection of Washington and Lewis Streets stood the original burial ground for Lexington's substantial free-black community and slaves dating to the early 1800s.

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Since I grew up mostly in Alaska and Saudi Arabia, my Civil War education was not the best. And obviously, nobody is going to do a movie about this without adding in loads of slave beating and racism. I've read that there were Black slave owners but this isn't something that gets too much airplay. So, my questions are:

How many free blacks were there in the South prior to the Civil War? Was this a significant population? Did they have to carry papers on them all the time to prove that they weren't escapees?

This site shows a picture of the historical marker.
Original African American Cemetery Marker, I-22-a

There were more black slave-owners in Louisiana than any other state. The French influence had something to do with that.

The first person killed by John Brown's Raiders at Harper's Ferry was a free black man. He is buried in the old black cemetary in Winchester.

The census records would be the best place to see how many free blacks were living in the south, they've been counted so a Google search ought to yield the results in the census records.

Check this out:

http://www.ncpedia.org/sites/default/files/census_stats_1790-1860.pdf

Those numbers go with a total population of 31M people so just over 1% free blacks in aggregate and less than 1% in the north and a little bit more in the south but still less than 1%.

Thanks BQ78 for sharing that. My perception had always been that free Blacks only lived in the Northern States but that perception is completely wrong.

In looking at the census numbers I thought it was funny that Texas doesn't show up until 1850 because I always subconsciously think of Texas as starting in 1836.

Cherokee in Oklahoma territory were slave owners too.

Keep in mind that after the passing of the Fugitive Slave Act, escaped slaves would want to keep on moving through the north and into Canada.

Oh and as to your question about papers, I don't think they had to carry papers in the north but unfortunately some would be caught by slave catchers anyway and sent south to become enslaved like Solomon Northrop, who wrote 12 Years a Slave. Northrop as a slave was given permission by his master to travel between plantations and he had papers for that local travel alone since he was a good fiddle player and in demand for dances.

My impression though is that free blacks did not carry papers, in the north they really didn't need them and in the south they did not move around much and only among the people who knew them and respected them for their contributions or value to society.

After Nat Turner, many Southern states passed laws that limited freedom of movement for free blacks and required any recently freed slaves to leave the state (not really an issue since most states required an act of legislature to free a slave by that point). They also refused to allow many free blacks who had travelled outside of the state to return.

As for black slave owners, the vast majority owned their family members. Because manumission was almost impossible in the 19th century, most could not legally free their "slaves." The gens de couleur in Louisiana were black by US law but considered themselves white according to French and Spanish racial laws. So technically they were black slave owners, but they would have fiercely denied that.

To Dr. Watson's point, I came across a petition from a young free black woman who owned a slave and was trying to get the slave freed. Turns out, the slave was her mother, whom she had bought. While some free blacks may have been slave owners outright, that doesn't mean that they were supportive of slavery in general. Slavery was in fact complicated, moreso than the simple black-and-white (pardon the pun) understanding that most folks have.

While it is probably true that legally, freed slaves needed passes, the fact of the matter is these were small towns and communities where everybody knew each other and few people traveled long distances. Within their community, everyone likely knew who was free and who wasn't. Free blacks, who often had professions like carpenter or shoemaker or whatever, were not "nameless" people like a plantation slave would be.

There's also the psychological effect that I call "knowing where you belong." A free black man walking around town is going to have an air about him that doesn't arouse suspicion, in the same way that a plantation slave, unaccustomed to town, is going to be more curious and obviously out of place. This general rule is probably true in all of life. When I go to a swanky event with folks in a tux, the guy who shows up who is an average joe is going to stick out like a sore thumb. I think something like this was almost certainly true of slaves and free blacks. Even if you changed their clothes, everyone would know the difference.

Dr. Watson said:

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After Nat Turner, many Southern states passed laws that limited freedom of movement for free blacks and required any recently freed slaves to leave the state (not really an issue since most states required an act of legislature to free a slave by that point). They also refused to allow many free blacks who had travelled outside of the state to return.

As for black slave owners, the vast majority owned their family members. Because manumission was almost impossible in the 19th century, most could not legally free their "slaves." The gens de couleur in Louisiana were black by US law but considered themselves white according to French and Spanish racial laws. So technically they were black slave owners, but they would have fiercely denied that.

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Slightly tangential - check out the history ofvthe Melungeons.

Free Blacks in 1800's Virginia
Free Blacks in 1800's US

Talk about the vmi experience.

I love going there and was lucky enough to see the new market day parade.
Fascinating place.