African Americans In The Antebellum Era

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Free Black People in Antebellum America were not even deemed to be completely free. They had freedom but lacked egalitarianism. Many black people envisioned freedom as deliverance from their slave owners. They were the main factor of building America. They believed that they would be treated as Americans once given freedom. However, that was not the outcome. The antebellum period was a time of hope and fear. Even though many black people, mostly in the North and South were free, the enslaved population also increased. The free black people in Antebellum America were restricted by obstacles that restrained their ability to move up in their social class. This passage proves that in the Antebellum period, free blacks were still treated as if they were slaves even though they gained their freedom. They feared they will be used to control the activities of African Americans during this Era. Even though the free blacks were restricted and forced into segregation, they overcame these obstacles creating a new era of black empowerment and a cultural legacy that foreshadowed black life in modern America. Black people started to gain their freedom in the North and South. However, their freedom were limited due to white supremacist who believed that once African Americans gain freedom, they will become a competition and have …show more content…

Membership in the black elite served as a bridge between the black community and sympathetic white people to build an understanding between both races. Members of the black elites became inventors, authors, professionals, artists, and musicians. This was an inspiration to other African Americans’ giving them hope and showing them they can also be Americans’ no matter their historical background. they also showed black empowerment that proved white people that African Americans’ can too do what they