While there were “free Blacks” living in South Carolina before the Civil War, their position was precarious and their freedoms were circumscribed. This article in the Boston Courier reprints an article from the Charleston South Carolina Courier describing the “sale of badges” by the Charleston City Treasurer to “Freed Negroes” in that city and the arrest of Blacks who claimed to be free but who lacked the badges. Blacks “freed” by their “masters” after 1822 are still legally slaves and, with the Secession Crisis looming, the mayor had decided to crack down on these supposedly free people.
Legal Position Of Freed Negroes In South Carolina
Boston Courier
Thursday, Aug 16, 1860
Boston, MA
Page: 2
Note on illustration: Badges like the one in the feature illustration were issued to Blacks, including those slaves allowed to work independently of their “owners,” in Charleston who were not working under direct supervision of a white owner. The badges were sewn onto the clothing of the Black worker.
Follow Reconstruction Blog on Social Media:
