Slavery Before the Civil War – Abolitionist Movements Creating Freedom
It has been said that the farther a slave was from gang labor in the South, the closer he was to freedom. Thus a slave in the North had a far better chance of attaining freedom, and even as a slave had a greater understanding of what free life was like. An Abolitionist tone echoed a mood of “freedom” through out the North. Quaker demands for manumission tied with the newest Enlightenment essays on “natural rights” must have daily given the slaves hope, while altering society to increase their chances for freedom. One can take this a step further, as well. If the slaves of the North had more freedom than those of the South, it is conceivable that the free blacks living in southern towns found that, even as free men, they had far less freedom than those who found homes in the North. After all, the overall “feeling” of freedom that permeated the North did not exist further south. In the South there was quite the opposite; even in freedom, blacks lived in an environment that was desperately trying to oppress them. It is perhaps these feelings of freedom or oppression that made the most difference in the lives of any black person, be he free or enslaved.
As far away as one can be from the gang labor of the South, a man enslaved in a northern city had at least a decent chance of gaining his freedom. Almost from the start northern slaves had the Quakers as advocates in their quest for freedom. The Quaker movement for manumission shaped the North’s atmosphere of freedom. As time passed, a slave in a northern city found he had many paths to freedom, and since he moved among free people daily, he had the opportunity to hear about his possibilities. Emancipation, surely, was dancing off the tongues of every person – black and white, free and slave. It was a defined ending to slavery; though that route to freedom may take years to unfold, it was certainly a hopeful thought. Furthermore, slaves were able to use the legality of emancipation coupled with the Enlightenment ethics of “natural rights,” which were quite popular in the North, and attempt to sue for their freedom. With the support of Abolitionist groups, their endeavors for freedom had a good chance of paying off. As time passed, the situation only seemed to look better, as men like Benezet and Rush formed groups to educate black children, an opportunity that had not previously existed. A slave in the North lived in a world where freedom was precious and passionately desired. Their supporters and protectors, the Abolitionists, were battling for their freedom; their owners and oppressors, most of whom were revolutionaries, were seeking freedom for America. Freedom was in the air, and even enslaved, a man could breathe.
In the South, however, even a free black suffered with desperate oppression. To begin with, many Southern states were filled with Loyalists; thus the revolutionary tone of freedom was but a distant hum one might hear when informed of news from the North. The environment of the Southern rural areas was much different. Unlike slaves in the North, enslaved men did not have the chance to mingle with free men; they were mostly confined to their plantation. Blacks in the rural areas who had gained their freedom also had very limited socializing. Even slaves in northern cities had an opportunity to congregate with freemen and friends; unlike them, free men in the rural South were usually oppressed by their white neighbors and discouraged from congregating. Rural southern black communities were also kept separated from the rest of the southern world. Instead of the air of freedom that filled the North, the South had a wave of fear. Most black men lived with the constant threat of being forced into slavery again, as some plantation owners would illegally claim a free black was a runaway slave and return him to bondage. White men, also afraid, released their fear through hostility towards free blacks. The idea of “natural rights” and “pure Reason” had not yet been absorbed into the southern culture; they still considered black people dangerous and unable to live a civilized life. Almost paradoxical to this was another fear: Free blacks, in proving their ability to live independently, compromised the white-beloved institution of slavery, which was justified by the belief that black people were inferior. In the North freedom’s flavor kept even the slaves’ air light. Southern air, however, was bogged down with hostility.
It’s difficult to determine where true freedom lies. Richard Lovelace, a poet from the 1600’s, wrote once, “If I have freedom in my love, and in my soul am free, angels alone that soar above, enjoy such liberty.” In discussing an era that sought liberty through both Revolution and emancipation, one should pause to regard such a statement. Was freedom in a piece of legal paper? Could any such paper tell one that he is free? A slave in the North may have lacked legal liberty, but even a free man in the South was not unshackled. The Northern cities had a tone of freedom that slave and non-slave alike could feel. In the deep rural south this tone did not exist, and even non-slaves felt a terrible oppression. It is the general beliefs of one’s society that determines if one is free or not. Northern blacks were in a society that predominately pursued freedom for all; thus even the slaves had powerful friends lifting them towards liberty. Southern rural communities were filled with fear and hostility towards blacks. It was racism that allowed slavery and racism that kept even the free black enslaved.
