Under the North Star

Leon F. Litwack's "North of Slavery" was originally published in 1961. The book deals with the position of Blacks in those US states that had abolished slavery.

It's not a very pretty story.

Blacks in the North were, of course, free. Despite this, their freedom was limited by racist legislation, negative public opinion and adverse economic conditions. In many states, Blacks weren't considered citizens. They were not allowed to testify against a White person in court, which meant that Whites could mistreat Blacks with impunity. Only a few Northern states allowed Blacks to vote. When the franchise was extended to all White males, Blacks were often stripped of their right to vote. Even the free states had "Jim Crow" legislation segregating street cars, railway carriages or steamers. De facto, most of Northern society was segregated in this fashion. White mob violence was frequent, educational opportunities slim to non-existent, and it was often impossible to find other than menial jobs. White labour unions saw Blacks as competitors, enemies and scabs, and often refused to co-operate with them. Even churches segregated or excluded Blacks, eventually leading these to form their own denominations. Some Blacks escaped racist oppression in the United States by moving to Canada.

Interestingly, Blacks tended to support the more "patrician" political parties: Federalists, Whigs and Republicans. The more plebeian Democrats were associated with the slave-holding South, popular racism and disenfranchisement of Blacks. However, no White political party was consistently anti-racist. Many Northern opponents of slavery wanted the new Western states to be "free" in the sense of being reserved for Whites! Lincoln, who eventually became the Great Emancipator, originally called for the total separation of the two races and the removal of all Blacks (or all free Blacks?) to Central or South America.

"North of Slavery" tells the story of life under the North Star in great detail, and the book is filled with appalling examples of racism, including bizarrely prejudiced quotes from various contemporary White sources. Naturally, Southern politicians used the racist sentiments in the North as proof of Northern hypocrisy. They had a certain point, although it's less clear in what way this justified their own conduct (which was even worse).

The author ends his story shortly before the Civil War, when the tide had begun to turn. The Dred Scott decision led to an upsurge of pro-Black, anti-Southern sentiment in the North. The Civil War inaugurated a new period in the history of American race relations, albeit one that would prove to be short-lived: Radical Reconstruction.

But that is another story.