Freedom, Not Always The Answer Essay, Research Paper

Freedom, not Always the Answer

It is a popular misconception that the northern states, in pre-Civil War days, were not prejudice. In fact, in some cases, the opposite is true. The North and South both had their shares of racism. It didn’t matter where you were at. If you were a black, you weren’t human. Even free blacks were despised, feared, and thought to be less than human.

The North sympathized with the black slaves, realizing that being a slave is an shameful existence. This is one reason why they were anti-slavery. The other reason, the North didn’t have use for slaves, hence, slavery needed not to exist. Unfortunately, blacks were still blacks in the North, even if they were free. Many free blacks faced discrimination everyday of their lives while living in the North. The white society viewed them harshly. They felt threatened that a “not even human” black was attempting to fit in with their society. Their minds were filled with thoughts like: “Just because your free doesn’t make you any better that you were.”

The South viewed blacks as mere property that could be bought and sold. Blacks were nothing more than a living machine. A free black, if still remaining in the South, would either be caught and sold back into slavery or sternly shunned. The typical plantation owner would see a free black as “good machinery going to waste.” The slave was usually placed higher in class than the free black. Their thoughts were: “At least the slave does something.”

Although some blacks were free from slavery, they still suffered the hatred that greeted them throughout the United States. They were the “third race.” They were labeled as worthless creatures that tried to fit in with the white society. Because of the times, it might have been just as rewarding to stay a slave. Sadly, freedom wasn’t always the greatest thing for the free blacks.