Ap Us History 2009 Document-based Question

            Thus, slavery and freedom of African Americans both expanded through social, economical, and political reasons; although free African Americans and enslaved African Americans were in different situations, they responded much in the same way to the challenges, through rebellion.

            From 1775 to 1830, the African Americans increased dramatically, especially in the northern states (Doc A). This was due to several social, political, and economical factors at the time. In a social aspect, during this time, the Great Awakening was occurring from around the 1800 to the 1840s. A large part of the audience was the African Americans (Doc D). The religion offered them hope, which allowed free African Americans to live on despite the discrimination they faced; it was a hope that nothing else could offer and it strengthened the desire for the slave to be freed. As a result, the number of free African Americans increased. Another social aspect that led to a higher number of free African Americans was through abolitionist and colonization societies. For example, the Vermont Colonization Society, in 1820, attempted to collect donations to allow for the relocation of African Americans back to Africa (Doc H). Although the African Americans would not be in America anymore, they would be freed nonetheless. As a result of the increase in societies like the Vermont Colonization Society, the number of freed African Americans likewise increased. In a political sense, the northern states were beginning to pass emancipation laws, freeing slaves that once toiled laboriously in the fields in the northern states. In fact, between 1783 and 1804, eight states begin the gradual abolition of slavery. This explains the large decrease in slavery in the north by 1830 (Doc C). While the slavery rates decreased, the free African Americans increased. Thus, the emancipation laws was another factor in the large increase of free African Americans, which occurred primarily in the North. An economic factor that allowed the number of free African Americans to increase was the fact that in the North, the tobacco cash crop was not very profitable; as a result, enslaved African Americans were not needed. This was shown through Venture Smith’s Narrative in 1798 in which he writes that he had purchased his own freedom. This was probably due to the fact that it was not as profitable to keep a slave anymore. As a result, Smith was freed and was allowed to even work for his original master for pay. In light of the examples above, the number of free African Americans increased due to a variety of social, economic and political factors.