Explain How Free Were Free Blacks In The South Dbq

Equality: the state or quality of being equal; correspondence in quantity, degree, value, rank, or ability. Imagine being set free from your master, who tortured you for years, forced you to work against your will, all in an attempt to harvest products that would help their plantation thrive? Unfortunately, this was the reality for most free blacks living in the north. Shortly after the Revolutionary War, most northern states began to quickly outlaw slavery, as the slave-based cash crop, cotton, didn’t grow in that region. However, others passed gradual emancipation laws, which took several decades for slavery to completely end. For those states, slavery didn’t end until the last slave died. The essential question is; how free were free blacks in the north? Free blacks in the North weren’t free, as they were denied many political, economic, and social freedoms. Politically, blacks had no freedoms to speak up in the northern states when it came to the government. According to Document A,
In Document C, an African American scholar states, “Why should I strive hard and acquire all the constituents of a man if the prevailing genius of the land admit me not as such, or but in an inferior degree! Pardon me if I feel insignificant and weak.” He proceeds to say, “Shall I be a mechanic? No one will employ me; white boys won't work with me. Shall I be a merchant? No one will have me in his office; white clerks won’t associate with me.” This is important because this speech was written from the perspective of a black male. To continue, the fact that he felt discouraged based on his identity, represents the intense struggle blacks faced while applying for jobs. Although he was at the top of his class in an integrated school, he was looked down upon. Therefore, this proves free blacks were denied economic freedoms because they weren’t given the same opportunities as