To be sure, their freedom was constrained. In some cities and states,
they had to register with courts
and put up substantial bonds “for
their protection” as part of “Black
Code” laws.
In others, the fact that they
were descendents of Africans made
it more challenging for them to
own and maintain property or to
have access to the benefits their
fellow citizens had. They were
sometimes taxed and there were
many attempts to sell free African
people into slavery. But amidst all
of this, they prevailed.
In a country whose foundations are intertwined with the brutality of slavery, it is interesting to
contemplate the reality of the free
African American and ask, indeed,
how these folks became free.
Some were manumitted as
a result of war service or other
heroism. Some were freed upon
the deaths of their masters. Some,
children of their masters, were
freed and sent to the North. And
some, regardless of whether they
were children of their masters,
bought their own freedom.
Even as I write the words
“bought their own freedom,” I
cringe at the oxymoronic nature
of the phrase. How does one purchase one’s own freedom, or, to be
more accurate, buy herself? How
does a slave enter into an enforceable contract with a master, someone who “owns” him or her? How
does a slave believe the terms of
the contract will be honored? Is
it faith, naiveté, fierceness or a
combination of the three? What
makes a slave decide to buy herself
instead of running off and freeing
herself another way?
There has been little study
of slaves who bought their freedom. From oral histories, we know
New
Philad elp hia
IOWA
IL LIN O IS
ILLINIOS RIVER
DES MOINES
238 miles
CHICAGO
235 miles
INDIANAPOLIS
258 miles
New Philadelphia
MISS ISSIPPI RIVER
ST. LOU I S
162 miles
MISSOURI
There is detailed information
on historic New Philadelphia,
Ill., former home to Free Frank
Mc Worter, at
www.FreeFrank.org.
Learn about Free Frank’s family
and his life. You’ll also be able
to learn about the city itself and
what it has to offer tourists and
history buffs.
slaves were often able to hire
t hem selv es o ut d uring their free
time, and tha t their maste rs took
a portion of their wages, leaving
the remainder for them tosaveor saveor or
to spend.
Enslaved women frequently
hired
as we themselves out as laundress-es, an d men, skilled in the crafts,
lder s, carpenters or common
laborers. Small farmers didn’t have
the advantage of the free labor of
slaves, but they could frequently
hire s lave labor from neighborin g
larg e farmers.
THE STOR Y OF
F REEF F RANK
W
h e are fortunate to have the
istory of F
McW orte r,
documente
grand dau gh ranci s “Free Frank”
painstakingly
d by his great-great-ter, D r. Juliet E.K.
Wa lker of the Un
in Sout h Ca ro iversity of Texas.
Free Frank was
lina born in 1777
to an enslaved
woman, Juda, and a planter, George
M c W hort er. W hen Mc Whorter
moved to Kentuck y, he took Fra nk
to he lp hi m m ana ge and build his
l andh oldi ngs. He
t o hi s neighbo rs. also leased his son
As a le ased wo rker, Frank was
able to sa ve a nd a lso to develop his
business sk ill s. H e used his savings
to create a sa ltpete r mining and
production opera tion, and with
the money he earned from that
manufacture, especially during
the War of 1812, he purchased
his freedom, as well as that of
his wife, Lucy, and of 16 other
family members. Along the way,
he dropped the “H” from his last
name, distinguishing himself from
his master and former owner,
George Mc Whorter.
