African American Lives in St. Louis, 1763-1865: Slavery, Freedom and the West

by Dale Edwyna Smith

Overview

The African American presence in St. Louis began in 1763 with the arrival of several free men of color who accompanied Pierre Laclede from New Orleans to set up a fur trading fort on the Mississippi. Within a few decades, the fort had become a prosperous commercial center whose proximity to the western frontier attracted a cosmopolitan community.

African Americans in St. Louis--both slave and free--enjoyed greater autonomy and opportunity than those in urban areas of the South and East. Slaves in the city set legal precedent by filing hundreds of freedom suits, often based on the prohibition against slavery set by the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. After a century in the region, many blacks enlisted in the Union Army during the Civil War. Drawing on a wide range of sources, the author studies the history of slaves and free blacks in this city.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476666839
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	02/22/2017
Pages:	216
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Dale Edwyna Smith earned a doctorate in history of American civilization at Harvard University. Her previous publications include The Slaves of Liberty. She lives in Boston, Massachusetts.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments viii
Preface
Introduction
Prologue
1. Gateway to the West
2. The Color of Law
3. To the Frontier
4. “The dangerous class”: Women of Color and the St. Louis Frontier
5. Sold West: The Slave Trade and the Advancing Frontier
6. “Free with the world”: The Strange Case of Milton Duty
7. “As far as Kansas”: Slave Resistance in the Gateway
8. Standing Ground: Free People of Color and the St. Louis Land Court
9. The Civil War
Epilogue. The Bond of Color: St. Louis People of Color and the West
Chapter Notes
Works Cited
Index