How Did Life in Colonial America Differ for

Free Blacks and Slaves?

Suggested Instructional Activity:
Sentence Strips Summaries
Possible group response prompts after reading:

How was life for slaves and free blacks similar? How was it different?

What political, economic, and social barriers did African Americans face in Colonial
America?

What political, economic, and social factors led to mistreatment of slaves and free
blacks?

Overall, we can generally say that ____________ because ______________.

Over time, ____________ changed by _______________.

Based on ______________, we can infer that _________________

The most significant thing about what weve learned is _______________ because
_______.

Suggested extension reading:

Free Blacks in Colonial Virginia
Free Blacks in Colonial America

How Did Life in Colonial America Differ for

Free Blacks and Slaves?
Adapted from African-Americans in the British New World on ushistory.org

SLAVE LIFE: AGRARIAN VS. URBAN

The first image that comes to mind when considering
slavery is plantation life. Tending to the planter's crop was the priority but
slaves performed many physically demanding jobs. Overseers monitored the workers
and routinely treated them brutally. Living quarters
were small and sparse, and food usually consisted of a
few morsels of meat and bread.
Large plantations might also have household slaves.
These domestic servants would prepare the master's
meals, tend the house, prepare for guests, and
sometimes look after the master's children. Household slaves often were treated better than
plantation slaves.
Slaves that lived on smaller farms often enjoyed closer relations with their masters than
plantation slaves. It stands to reason that a farmer working side by side with four slaves might
develop closer bonds than a planter who owns four hundred. This sometimes, but not always, led
to kinder treatment.
Some urban merchants and artisans employed slave labor in their shops. This enabled slaves to
acquire marketable skills. In fact, white craftsmen often displayed strong resentment towards
skilled urban slaves, believing the price of their labor would suffer. Generally, slaves that lived in
towns had greater freedom than those that lived on farms. They met more people and learned
more of the world around them. Daring individuals sometimes took the opportunity to escape.

SLAVE
CODES
Slaves did not
accept their fate
without protest.
As
African
Americans in the
colonies grew
greater and
greater in
Nat Turner was inspired by visions of the Spirit to lead a slave uprising in Virginia on August 22, 1831. number, there
Source: The Granger Collection, New York
was a paranoia
on the part of the white settlers of violent slave rebellion. When rebellions occurred, colonies
passed laws restricting slaves' behaviors. The laws were known as slave codes.
Slave codes differed from colony to colony, but there were some common restrictions. Legally
considered property, slaves were not allowed to own property of their own. They were not
allowed to assemble without the presence of a white person. Slaves that lived off the plantation
were subject to strict curfews.

In the courts, a slave accused of any crime against a white person was doomed. No testimony
could be made by a slave against a white person. Therefore, the slave's side of the story could
never be told in a court of law. Of course, slaves were conspicuously absent from juries as well.
Slave codes had ruinous effects on African American society. Marriage between slaves were not
recognized as legal. This made it easier to justify the breakup of families by selling a husband,
wife, or child to another owner. It was illegal to teach a slave to read or write. Some Christians
broke this law and educated slaves to enable the reading of the Bible.

WINNING FREEDOM
For African Americans living in bondage, there were
several ways to achieve freedom, though it was an uncommon
event. Indentured servants could fulfill the terms of their
contracts like those brought to Jamestown in 1619. In the
early days, when property ownership was permitted,
skilled slaves could earn enough money to buy their
freedom. Many blacks, however, attained liberty the hard
way through a daring escape.
Another way of becoming free was called MANUMISSION
the voluntary freeing of a slave by the master. While there
are famous examples of manumission, such as George
Washingtons freeing of his slaves upon his death, it was not
common practice. After the spirit of freedom and
independence was spread
manumission increased,
Manumission
occurrence.
Source: Library of Virginia

a
by the American Revolution,
but it remained a rare

Finally, a person of African American descent could be born free. However, whether or not a
person was born free depended on the status of the mother. If the mother was a slave, the child
would also be the property of the mothers owner. But, if the mother was free, the child would
also be free. Therefore, most mixed-race free children were born to white mothers who had
served with slaves as indentured servants and had a child by an African American man.

FREE BLACKS IN THE COLONIES

Free African Americans were most likely to live in urban
centers. The chance for developing ties to others that were
free plus greater economic opportunities made town living
sensible. However, free African Americans were rarely
accepted into white society. Some colonies applied their
slave codes to free African Americans as well.
Though restrictions varied, by the 1700s, free blacks
especially in the South were not allowed to vote or hold
public office. They could not have white servants or
intermarry with whites. Obtaining an education was difficult
and work was often hard to find, low-paying, and difficult.
Perhaps the most horrifying prospect was kidnapping. Slave
catchers would sometimes abduct free African Americans
and force them back into slavery. In a society that did not

permit black testimony against whites, there was very little that could be done to stop
this practice.
In spite of the grave injustices that free and enslaved African
Benjamin Banneker
Americans endured, they influenced the shaping of America
Source: Wikimedia Commons
greatly. Poet and slave Phillis Wheatley wrote vividly about
the slave experience leading up to the American Revolution.
Benjamin Banneker, a free black from Maryland helped survey the borders of
Washington, D.C. and wrote letters to Thomas Jefferson about slavery and racial equality.
African culture, language, tradition, and art have all played a part in shaping the America
we live in today.