Free Blacks compared to Slaves :: History

Free Blacks compared to Slaves The next few paragraphs will compare blacks in the north to blacks in the south in the 1800’s. In either location blacks were thought of as incompetent and inferior. The next few paragraphs will explain each group’s lifestyle and manner of living. Up north all blacks were free. The population of blacks in the north was about 1% in 1860 after the American Revolution. The blacks up north had minimal rights. The blacks could not vote, because of stipulations or they were just told that they could not vote by laws of their area. The New York Convention created one stipulation that was created to exclude blacks from voting in 1821; the law stated that blacks could not vote if they did not own property. Most blacks were having a tough time getting jobs in the south. So if a black person could not generate income how were they supposed to buy a home? In the north the blacks only had menial jobs. Menial jobs were basically jobs that you needed no skill and received small pay. Jobs of skill were kept away from blacks. If blacks tried to get the skill jobs they were either turned away or beat up by workers. About 95% of blacks in the 1800’s were working menial jobs. The jobs that the blacks acquired were the jobs that whites would not take. Whites just thought of blacks as dumb and incapable people, they were only capable for menial jobs. Blacks in the north were separated from their white counterparts in everyway. Legislators were always creating laws to keep the races divided. Many states tried to impose laws that would segregate schools. The whites did not want black kids going to the same school because if blacks and whites mingled there could be inter marriage. Even the trains were segregated. Negroes had to sit on a certain part of the streetcars and whites on another. Blacks were not allowed to go to certain cities because people thought that they brought down the property value. Imagine people thought just the presence of blacks could bring down property value down. Blacks in the south were not free. Southern blacks were forced to work all day for no pay. As soon as the sunrise the slaves had to work until sunset. Blacks in the south had no choice to take a day off or not.