A free Negro or free black is the term used prior to the abolition of slavery in the United States to describe an African American who was not a slave. Almost all African Americans came to the United States as slaves, but as early as 1619, a class of free Negros existed in America. The free Negro population grew from multiple sources: (1) children born of free colored persons, (2) mulatto children born of free colored mothers, (3) mulatto children born of white servants or free women, (4) children of free Negro and Indian parentage, (5) manumitted slaves and (6) slaves who escaped.
Slaveholders manumitted slaves for various reasons. Sometimes an owner died and the heirs did not want slaves, or a slave was freed as reward for his or her good service, or the slave was able to pay in order to be freed.Slaves could also be promised their freedom by serving in the army during the Revolution; the British were the first to recruit and promise slaves their freedom, and then the Americans began to allow blacks to enlist as well. Many slaves took the initiative to free themselves by running away through networks like the Underground Railroad, assisted by former slaves and abolitionist sympathizers.
Read more about Free Negro: History, Regional Differences, Opportunities For Advancement, Women, Notable Free Negroes
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