Compare and contrast the situation of african-american, both enslaved and free, in the northern states, the middle states, and the southern states in the decades following the American revolution. What might explain the differences you note?

The American Revolutionary War brought many new ideas to the politics of the United States. Concepts such as freedom and equality gained recognition and challenged the status of slavery. While slavery was still generally accepted, the views that people had on it and the status of slaves varied greatly among different regions.

In the northern states, laws were passed against slavery, but they were not always successful. Sometimes, they would only liberate the children of current slaves, or would liberate them after a certain age. Nevertheless, this region experienced the largest transformation in regard to the status of African-Americans.

In the middle states, where plantations no longer demanded such a large workforce, a significant population of free black men arose as well. They created a network of public institutions that represented their identity.

However, this movement was never significant in the southern states. In fact, new laws were passed in the Deep South that strengthened the dominance of masters over slaves. This was likely due to the reliance of these colonies in free labor in order to maintain their enormous and labour-intensive plantations.