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“Expressly Recognized by Our Election Laws”: Certificates of Freedom and the Multiple Fates of Black Citizenship in the Early Republic

Abstract:The article makes several arguments. First, the certificate laws prompted black New Yorkers to recognize that they were all disadvantaged citizens of the same state jurisdiction. This helps us understand the strong state-based component of nineteenth-century black activism in New York. Second, by participating effectively in early electoral politics, black voters not only wielded influence in elections, but also convinced a range of powerful white New Yorkers that black New Yorkers were citizens both on paper and in practice. It was ultimately impossible for opponents to erase black civic identity entirely from the state’s law books and political culture. Third, certificates of freedom highlight the communal nature of black formal politics; the actual process of voting required the active assistance of black women and white allies.