Jim Crow North
The Struggle for Equal Rights in Antebellum New England
Richard Archer
Reviews and Awards
"[P]rovides a rich...account of the African American struggle for civil equality in New England before the Civil War....Recommended."--D. R. Mandell, CHOICE
"Jim Crow North is a valuable resource for undergraduate and graduate students alike." -- David Rothmund, University of Illinois at Chicago, H-Socialisms
"A compact and cohesive history of the African American fight for equal rights in postrevolutionary New England....Archer shines in his in-depth work on the characteristics and pervasiveness of mixed marriages in the antebellum period, highlighting an understudied subject....An accessible history that should be required reading for those interested in African American or antebellum history." -- James J. Gigantino II, Journal of American History
"A wonderfully compact compendium of many of those things readers...would like to know concerning the realities of racism as practiced and sometimes reformed in antebellum New England." -- Larry E. Tise, Journal of the Early Republic
"Until recently there were few sustained critical examinations of pre-Civil War bigotry and racism in the North where antislavery forces were not treated sympathetically. Richard Archer's readable and well-researched book is a welcome resource on the topic, and demonstrates the hostility that African Americans faced even in largely antislavery society....Archer introduces readers to many influential antebellum New England African Americans, only peripherally discussed in antislavery literature, whose efforts fighting Northern prejudice and segregation were effective and deserve better common knowledge." -- Granville Ganter, African American Review
"Insightful....Readers will appreciate Archer's nuanced analysis of black-white relations within New England." -- Mark Elliott, American Historical Review
"Richard Archer has provided scholars and students with an excellent and readable study of the civil rights struggle of Afro-New Englanders. He shows that racism had exceedingly deep roots in New England, but so did the efforts of African Americans to claim and maintain meaningful citizenship. As Archer shows, black people were not satisfied with basic freedom bathed in discriminatory attitudes, laws, and beliefs. Instead, they fought tooth and nail to achieve what they came to consider their rights as citizens of the various states of New England." -- Harvey Amani Whitfield, Vermont History
"It is Archer's excellent storytelling, coupled with his contextualization of events, which enriches Jim Crow North and makes it an especially worthwhile read for historians and general interest readers of African American history.... Ideal for assigning to undergraduate students." -- Gordon S. Barker, Civil War Book Review