ABSTRACT

South Carolina’s antebellum upcountry was home to a group of free black farmers who achieved meaningful degrees of economic security and whose lives mirrored those of some of their white neighbours in ways that challenged the boundary between race and class. Though just a segment of rural free people of colour, these farmers more closely resembled non-elite whites than they did the enslaved, and represent an important dimension within South Carolina’s free black population. This essay examines these farmers, explores how they emerged, evaluates their farm strategies, and provides a detailed study of their precise economic status in South Carolina’s upcountry.

摘要

南卡罗来纳州的战前内陆地区是一群自由的黑人农民的家园，这些黑人农民实现了有意义的经济安全，他们的生活以挑战种族和阶级界限的方式反映了他们一些白人邻居的生活。尽管这只是农村有色人种的一小部分，但与奴隶制相比，这些农民更像非精英白人，在南卡罗来纳州的黑人自由人口中占有重要地位。本文研究了这些农民，探讨了他们的成长方式，评估了他们的农场策略，并详细研究了他们在南卡罗来纳州内陆地区的确切经济状况。