Self-Determination Strategies of Free Black Communities in the Antebellum Midwest”

• In Event: Race, Activism, and Social Movements from the 18th century to the 20th century

Abstract

This paper focuses on the analysis of archival, archaeological, historical, and social histories of the migration of free African Americans and racially mixed people from Virginia to Northwestern Ohio. The project analyzes the role of structural constraints, relationships with Native American communities, contributions to Western Expansion initiatives, governmental policies, and the evolving social construction of race in empowering them to migrate out of Virginia and into Northwestern Ohio (also known as the Old Northwest). Once in Ohio, these courageous settlers embraced self-determination by founding a number of villages, actively participating in the Underground Railroad, and leading rich social lives with other free blacks in the surrounding communities. Further, through the people's narrative, we get a firsthand perspective of their agency throughout the process.
My analysis problemitizes previous scholarship regarding the success of self-determination strategies among free Blacks and newly emancipated enslaved people in the Old Northwest. Through the lens of one large clan, we are able to gain insight into: (1) relationships between African servants, European servants, and indigenous people, specifically those from the Virginia Confederacy of Indians, (2) racial categorization via restrictive codes (e.g. Black Codes, Black Laws) (3) exploitation by the colonial British Commonwealth, specifically during Lord Dunmore’s appointment, and (4) manipulation from the American government, specifically the Adams, Jackson, and Van Buren administrations in targeted Indian Removal Campaigns, resettlement programs and the movement toward westward expansion to the Old Northwest.

Author

• Jill E. Rowe, Western Michigan University - Kalamazoo, MI