The Negro Citizen in New York City, 1850-1860: A Study of the Free Negro's Status in the North During the Critical Years
Abstract
This study deals with some of the manifestations of this sociological
transition, or the initial impact the sudden presence of a man
liberated from forced servitude and of another race--had upon free white
society. The story related is that of the free negro living in New York
City during the 1850's. The accumulated facts describe the negro's situation
in the city during this decade, and have been primarily drawn from
accounts in the New York Times of those years. the records of the New York
City Board of Education of the ten years, and from the edited works of
Frederick Douglass, the principal colored abolitionist leader resident
in the city at that time. Therefore, this history records the general
attitude towards and the treatment of the negro citizen during the decade
of the 1850's. Allotted time and available resources did not permit a
more detailed or chronological report, but the purpose of the study is fully realized through the records and editorial comments collected from
the aforementioned sources. What these statements and supporting facts
illuminate 1s the social attitude and environment the escaping or manumitted
slave found upon arriving in the North, the land of promised freedom.
How did this situation differ from what he had know as a slave and
how did It differ from that of the white, are two questions the research
of this paper attempts to clarify. The story of the free negro in society
before the Emancipation Proclamation is crucia1 to understanding the story
of the negro's history since the Civil War. And because, as Frederick
Douglass pointed out, the black man finding his way North 1nvariably chose
the large urban center as his place of habitat. The following examination
of the status of the negro citizen in New York City from 1850 to 1860.
is offered partial explanation for the negro's history following his
liberation from bondage.
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
Negro Self-Esteem: A Survey of Pertinent Research
Borey, Ellen Gray (Kalamazoo, Mich. : Kalamazoo College., 1969)Missing pages 1-16 -
An Exploration of Community Attitudes toward Negroes in a Chicago Suburb
Strom, Karen Jean (Kalamazoo, Mich. : Kalamazoo College., 1966)The scope of the study 1s extremely broad which prohibits in-depth analysis of any one area. At the same time, this makes it possible to view many aspects of Des Plaines as a non-integrated city and to see it in the ... -
Negro Business in Kalamazoo
Wilson, Robert F.G. (Kalamazoo, Mich. : Kalamazoo College., 1964)The primary purpose of this paper is to present a consolidated report of the Negro business men and women in Kalamazoo in the hope that through various channels, the young Negro will be aware that there are members of ...