The Spectrum of Black Freedom in the Age of Slavery

Abstract This article proposes new ways of thinking about and conceptualizing the influence of Black freedom on the development of citizenship and democracy in the United States between 1783 and 1861. Moving away from overgeneralized national narratives, it explores the spectrum of citizenship and democracy that developed in various states during the era of slavery. This study adopts a comparative perspective and advances a new conceptual framework that is potentially applicable to other post-revolutionary Atlantic societies, arguing that US states essentially developed in the direction of civic democracies (where free Blacks were considered full citizens), racial democracies (where free Blacks were considered non-citizens), or hybrid democracies (where free Blacks were considered second-class citizens), respectively, depending on how local communities understood and experienced Black freedom. It also briefly considers the ways in which free Black populations navigated, resisted, and helped shape local landscapes of citizenship and democracy across antebellum America.