FREE NEGROES
\fɹˈiː nˈiːɡɹə͡ʊz], \fɹˈiː nˈiːɡɹəʊz], \f_ɹ_ˈiː n_ˈiː_ɡ_ɹ_əʊ_z]\
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According to the census of 1790, there were 59,481 free colored persons in the United States. Of these 28,558 were in the Southern States, as against about 647,000 slaves, 17,852 in the Middle States, as against about 45,000 slaves, and 13,071 in New England, as against about 3800 slaves. As aversion to slavery decreased in the South, emancipation was made less easy, and free negroes were put under certain disabilities. The view that they were a dangerous element in the population strengthened the movement for colonization of them in Africa (see arts. Colonization Society, Liberia). In 1857 the Supreme Court declared that free negroes were not citizens of the United States (see Dred Scott). The Thirteenth Amendment made all negroes free.
By John Franklin Jameson