American History

The 18th century came with the American Revolution which was the beginning of the manumission of the slaves. This was meant to be the beginning of a new life for the slaves though the process was gradual. In the Northern states, the slaves were given some rights for example in capital cases they had the right to trial by jury. Just after the Revolution, there came a trend of separation and segregation. The Americans became threatened by the free slaves more than the slaves themselves especially in the South. This is because with the Revolution, there hold or power over the black community was less (Winthrop 155).The segregation was deemed to be worse than the slavery because the free Negroes were more restricted. These restrictions included separation by race at places that were for social gatherings. Majority of the Americans could not vouch for equality with the black community without incorporating separation. Restraints on personal manumissions were the results of the hostility towards free slaves. The number of free slaves increased from 8 per cent to more than 13 per cent. Separation and segregation lead to the first Negro churches (Winthrop 158).
According to Winthrop D. Jordan in his book The White Mans Burden, after 1790, the free Negroes became a problem. There were more and more free slaves with every passing day. With attempts to deal with the situation, the attitude of Americans changed gradually thirty years after the Revolution. They needed clarity of the status of the free Negroes. In addition to the separation, many problems were attributed to the free slaves. They were said to harbor stolen goods, stolen by slaves. It was so serious that in Maryland there was a judge who accredited the art of theft and harboring of fugitives to the free Negroes (Winthrop 157).The freeing of slaves led to fewer blacks living with the white community. Around 1810 segregated institutions began because Negroes were not allowed as equals in the American churches. The Negroes in Philadelphia and other Northern states were among the first. Before the end of the war there were two self-determining congregations of Negroes. Absalom Jones and Richard Allen were the first Philadelphia blacks to start the congregations. They were backed up by influential white men and this was contrary to American behavior towards Negroes.
 They were the first group that worshipped at St. Georges Methodist Church. But they were still segregated because they were made to seat around the wall of the church. A group of the blacks walked out and on their own initiative formed another church known as Free African Society. In 1793, in the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas, there was a display of interracial harmony (Winthrop 159).The separation was an experience that gave the black community an identity. It pushed them to do things on their own initiative and this gave the white community clarity of the status of the free Negroes. But at the same time, the separation led to definition of people against racial lines and up to date people are still struggling with racial discrimination.