The author revealed the advantages and disadvantages of being a free Negro in antebellum North Carolina through extensive research on laws passed during that time, statistics, and scores of other sources.

Franklin discussed in great detail the population growth and the legal status of the free Negro in North Carolina. The free Negro population in this area grew in many ways. Natural increase, manumission of slaves by their owners, influx of runaway slaves, the immigra

The economic and social life of the free Negro was directly impacted by their legal status. The legal system hampered economic and social growth of the free Negro by restricting even their communication with the white or slave population. Education

tion of slaves from other states, and free Negro's who purchased their friends and relatives out of slavery were all reasons the free Negro population grew in North Carolina. Franklin states, "It was one thing to inherit or acquire freedom and quite another to maintain it. The Negro's right to freedom was continuously questioned, and not infrequently he had to go into court and by certificates, affidavits, and the like prove this right to enjoy the privileges of a free man." The author's opinion of the legal system towards the free Negro questions how much freedom

Some common words found in the essay are:
North Carolina, Carolina Franklin, free negro, north carolina, Carolina Franklin's, negro north, negro north carolina, Negro North, free negro north, free negro population, north carolina free, economic social, negro population, carolina free, carolina free negro, social life, legal status, white slave, life free,
Approximate Word count = 552
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)