Afro-American Studies 335 - SEM:FREE BLACKS U.S. PRE-1865

A study of the history of free blacks from the 17th century to the abolition of slavery in 1865. A major problem created by the establishment of slavery based on race by the 1660s was what was to be the status of free blacks. Each local and state government addressed the political, economic, and even religious questions raised by having free blacks in a slave society. This course will address a neglected theme in the history of the Afro-American experience, i.e., the history of free blacks before the passage of the thirteenth amendment. Recommended background: AAS 117.

Instructor Permission. Not open to first-years, sophomores