Imagine that you are an escaped African slave. After years of slavery, you have finally made it, you have escaped the terrors of slavery. You look forward to the freedoms you heard about in the North. However, these “freedoms” are as they were designed. Northern blacks were to some extent free in the years before the Civil War. This can be demonstrated by examining four areas of society: political and judicial rights, social freedoms, education and employment opportunities, and religious freedom. Generally speaking, Northern blacks were somewhat free in the areas of political and judicial rights. By 1860, most Northern states allowed or restricted voting. This may sound great, but New England was the region with the most states in which black men could vote. Of the 221,000 blacks in the North, only 25,000 African Americans lived in New England. Additionally, only men were allowed to vote. All women, regardless of race, were barred from voting until several years after the Civil War. Five of the 16 Northern states allowed restricted voting for black men. Out of 11,000 blacks in New York City, only 100 could vote. The reason behind this is that you had to pay $250 for property in order to vote. This prevented most black people in New York from voting. Jury duty was also another activity that almost no black people could participate in. Of the 16 northern states, Massachusetts was the only state in 1860 to allow black men to serve on juries. These limitations on freedoms are important because black people have virtually no say in their government. A voice in government is important for everyone, because everyone who lives there must also be considered when making or changing...... middle of paper ...... rights political and judicial rights of free blacks, their social freedoms, employment and educational opportunities, and religious freedom. Not all black people who escaped slavery led perfect lives in the North. They still had to go through trials and bear many burdens even though they were free. The reason it is important to learn about the lives of free black people in the North is because even though they were free, life was not so easy for them. This is important to learn because it dispels misconceptions that the North was a completely safe haven for slaves. They were free, but they were not treated as equals and it was still difficult for them. These things are important today because we see how much our country has changed. We need to know this because we can see how much we have changed for the better and use that as motivation to continue improving in the future..