Free Black Americans in the Early Republic — Precarious Status

The 1790 census counted approximately 59,000 free Black people in the United States. Despite nominal freedom, most free Black Americans were barred from juries, testimony against whites, and most skilled trades. In Southern states, free Black people had to carry papers proving their status at all times or risk re-enslavement under vagrancy laws. Freedom in the early republic was juridical fiction for most African Americans.