Jim Crow north: the struggle for equal rights in antebellum New England

Abstract

The struggle to overcome Jim Crow was part of a larger movement for equal rights in antebellum New England. Using sit-ins, boycotts, petition drives, and other initiatives, African American New Englanders and their white allies attempted to desegregate schools, transportation, neighbourhoods, churches, and cultural venues. They worked to secure the franchise, improve educational opportunities, enlarge employment prospects, remove prohibitions against mixed marriages, and protect fugitive slaves from recapture. Above all they sought to be respected and treated as equals in a reputedly democratic society. This work examines this topic.