Free Negroes in the Northern United States [pp. 573-581]

574 FREE NEGROES IN THE NORTHERN UNITED STATES.
who have hardly ever seen a negro; whereas the feeling arises entirely from a conviction, founded on ample experience, that in its
present state, this kind of population is a positive evil to society, and
is incorrigible. Many of the States, such as Indiana and Illinois,
have positively forbidden them to enter. They are commonly esteemned. just in proportion to their scarcity; thus in some of the
New-England villages the few remaining negroes are often curiosities;
they are called Topsys and Uncle Toms, and all their antics and
whims give great delight; in fact, they occupy a position something
similar to that of the court-fools in bygone days, their oddity of
appearance and rarity of numbers insuring for them the favor and consideration denied worthier persons. In such places the people are
astonished at the "prejudice" entertained by their brethren in other
States against the negro. In New-Hampshire, for example, the huIr.anity of the people has caused them to grant political privileges to
the negro, so that he is allowed to vote.* But let us analyze this act,
and we shall ascertain its true value. A line of figures will give the
history of free negroes in New-Hampshire since the year 1790: thus
there were in that State in the years 1790. 1800. 1810. 1820. 1830. 1840. 1850.
Free Blacks.630.. 856.. 970.. 786.. 604.. 537.. 520
Slaves...158.. 8
Here we find that the unfortunate race has been dwindling away
during the last forty years, and will, probably soon become extinct.
If it be said that some have emigrated, we oppose to that the fact
shown by the census, that only 339 of the above 520 were born in
the State. But to continue: 260 of this number were females who,
of course, are not voters, and must be deducted, leaving 260 males;
of these 105 were under the age of twenty-one, and consequently not
allowed to vote; and thus we have the sum of this huge act of philanthropy, a decaying remnant of 155 blacks admitted to the polls, in
a State containing an increasing white population of 317,456 souls. t
T In 1857, the Legislature of Newv-Hampshire passed the following law:
AN ACT TO SECURE FREEDOM AND THE RIGHTS OF CITIZENSHIP TO PERSONS IN THIS STATE.
SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court as.senbled. That neither descent, near or remote, from a person of African blood, whether such
person is or may have been a slave, nor color of skin, shall disqualify any person from becoming a citizen of this State, or deprive such person of the full rights and privileges of a
citizen thereof.
SEC. 2. Any slave who shall'come or be brought into, or be in this State, with the consent
of his master or mistress, or who shall come or be brought into, or be in this State involuntarily, shall be free.
Sec. 3. Every person who slfall hold or attempt to hold in this State, in slavery, or as a
slave, any person, of whatever color, class or condition, in any form, or under any pretence,
or for any length of time. shall be deemed guilty of felony, and on conviction thereof shall
be confined to hard labor for aterm of not less than one or more than five years; provided,
that the provisions of this section shall not apply to any act lawfully done by any officer of
the United States or other person in the execution of any legal process.
SEC. 4. Section 1st of chapter 25 of the Compiled Statutes, shall not be so construed as in
ally case to deprive any person of color, or of African descent, born within the limits of the
United States and having the other requisite qualifications, from voting at any election; but
such person shall have and exercise the right of suffrage as fully and amply as persons of
tho white race. Passed, June, 1857.
t Twenty-six of these voters could neither read nor write. We take the figures given by
the last cen-us (that of 1850); the act was passed in 1857.