Blacks In The South Dbq Analysis

An eight-year-old African American boy sat on the floor of his church. His mother and father were talking quietly in the corner. He only heard pieces of the conversation. Things like “abolitionist” and “segregation” were repeated often. Many questions ran through his head. Questions like ‘Why do the whites have separate churches?’ And ‘Why is my dad not allowed to practice medicine?’ There were 221,000 free blacks in the sixteen Northern states in 1860. That is 4.9% of the African American population. They were called “free”, but did they really have liberty? Free people act as they wish and are unimpeded by others telling them what to do. Based on the political, social and economic rights of blacks in the North, we can conclude that they were not very free in comparison to the whites around them.

Since the whites thought of the blacks as inferior,
many Northern states limited African American political power. As stated in Document A, in 1860 only one state allowed black male jury duty. In Document B, an Englishman named Charles Mackay writes that there were no blacks that were part of a court or legislature. Mackay observes whites in the U.S. and writes this document stating how free the blacks really are in the North. He writes what he observes the whites thinking, “[Blacks] shall not be free to… attend us in our courts - represent us in the legislature…”. According to Documents A and B, Northern states restricted the political influence of blacks by refusing to let them be part of courts, juries and legislatures.

In 1860, there were two distinct social groups.
The blacks and whites were separate. In Document B, Mackay specifies that theatres, churches and workplaces were divided. There were laws against blacks associating with whites in public, according to the English visitor. We read in Document D about black churches having to offer social situations that blacks would otherwise miss out on. Some such opportunities are reading newspapers and attending Sunday School. In the North, whites withheld blacks from connecting with them in their communities.

States in the North did not allow blacks and whites to go to school or work together. Document B states that jobs such as doctors and lawyers were unavailable to blacks in 1860. The black student in Document C describes the feeling of inferiority that he feels because his school is separate from the white school. This student also explains his concern that whites often do not hire blacks, no matter how educated they are. As it says in Documents B and C, whites did not pay attention to the economic and education needs of African Americans. The two races were
separated.

Our evidence shows the political, economic, and social positions of free blacks in the North. From this, we can conclude that the whites around them enjoyed a lot more liberty than they did. The African American political power was limited by their inability to serve in a court or on a jury. Whites separated themselves from blacks while they were in public. Finally, black students and workers were made to feel inferior by the different work and school places. In comparison to the whites around them, “free” blacks in the North were not as free.