The Journal of Negro History, Volume 3, 1918

In Short

This third volume of The Journal of Negro History (1918) collects scholarly essays, book reviews, and primary documents documenting African American life, legal standing, and culture across centuries. The volume spans biographical studies of figures like Josiah Henson and Benjamin Banneker, analytical essays on regional slavery in California and Kentucky, institutional histories of Howard University, and accounts of anti-slavery settlements like Buxton in Canada. Through strict archival research, it demonstrates how African Americans actively built communities, advanced scientific and literary achievements, and navigated complex legal codes. The collection endures as a foundational monument of historical scholarship, preserving vital primary records and providing an unvarnished examination of the structural and personal realities of race in early America.

The Story

The volume opens with a biographical examination of Josiah Henson, tracing his journey from bondage to international renown, highlighting his role as an inspiration for Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Henson’s life reveals the immense psychological burdens imposed by slavery—illustrated by his struggle to free his brother—and demonstrates the power of personal narrative used as a tool to raise funds for emancipation. This focus on individual agency transitions into broader literary and social reflections, such as Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s passionate engagement with anti-slavery movements and human rights struggles across Europe and the Americas.

The focus then shifts westward and south to examine how regional laws shaped the institution of slavery and the rights of free Black citizens. In California, despite anti-slavery constitutional measures, pro-slavery factions repeatedly attempted to bar free Black people from entering the state and stripped them of the right to testify in court against white individuals. In response, early Black leaders organized state conventions to protest these oppressive statutes. In Kentucky, slavery operated under complex legal definitions where enslaved people were classified alternately as real estate and personal property to serve the financial interests of estates and creditors. The state's geography made it a prime staging ground for escape, prompting stringent black codes, active slave markets in cities like Louisville, and fierce political resistance against Northern abolitionist efforts.

The volume turns to the institutional and constitutional foundations of Black advancement and political debate. It details the founding and first fifty years of Howard University, tracing its emergence after the Civil War alongside early normal schools like the Myrtilla Miner Normal School, and its deep ties with local religious and civic institutions. In tandem, the text re-examines the political mechanics of emancipation, highlighting how secret rollcalls and carefully negotiated votes in Congress secured the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment. This historical analysis extends to the debate over constitutional construction, where figures like John R. Lynch argue that Supreme Court rulings favoring States' Rights severely crippled federal protections against racial proscription, lynch law, and segregated transit.

Finally, the collection addresses the social dynamics of race, miscegenation, and voluntary settlement. It examines early colonial laws in states like Pennsylvania and Maryland that sought to criminalize intermarriage and cohabitation between white indentured servants and Black individuals, revealing how racial boundaries were deliberately constructed by law. In contrast to domestic oppression, the volume examines successful self-governing Black communities, such as the Buxton Settlement in Canada West. Buxton’s detailed agricultural reports show a thriving economy with cleared land, livestock, brickyards, and self-supporting schools. The volume concludes with primary documents detailing the debates of the Framers of the Federal Constitution over the three-fifths clause, the slave trade, and state representation, providing a complete historical arc from constitutional compromise to post-war reconstruction.

How It Unfolds

The life of Josiah Henson W. B. Hartgrove examines the life of Josiah Henson, exploring his escape from slavery, his efforts to publish his autobiography, and his work raising funds to purchase his brother's freedom. The piece emphasizes Henson's role as a representative figure of Black resilience and an inspiration for nineteenth-century anti-slavery literature.

Literary movements for human rights Benjamin Brawley discusses Elizabeth Barrett Browning's dedication to global liberty, connecting her anti-slavery sympathies with her support for Italian independence and working-class reforms. The article illustrates how nineteenth-century literary figures integrated anti-slavery sentiment into broader international human rights movements.

Legal battles over freedom in California Delilah L. Beasley details the political and legal efforts by pro-slavery politicians to exclude free Black immigrants from California and deny them testimony rights in courts. It highlights the organizing power of early Black conventions that gathered to protest these discriminatory black codes.

Presidential perspectives on colonization Primary documents showcase Thomas Jefferson's correspondence regarding plans for land allocations and penal colonies for emancipated individuals in places like Santo Domingo or western territories. The records highlight early federal and state anxieties over slave insurrections and the logistical debates surrounding colonization.

Astronomical achievements and public memory Henry E. BAKER highlights Benjamin Banneker's mathematical and astronomical accomplishments while analyzing how white historical societies framed his legacy. The text uncovers the racial biases present in early historical memoirs and highlights Banneker's undeniable scientific contributions.

Institutional foundations of Howard University Dwight O. W. Holmes outlines the establishment and growth of Howard University in Washington, D.C., documenting its connection with local churches and normal schools. The narrative records the institutional steps taken to secure higher education for newly emancipated citizens.

Judicial decisions and States' Rights John R. Lynch critiques Supreme Court rulings that restored expansive power to individual states, arguing that these decisions undermined civil rights protections and enabled widespread segregation on public transit. He contends that limiting federal authority directly allowed lynch law and racial discrimination to flourish.

Political maneuvering for the Thirteenth Amendment Historical recollections from reading clerk E. W. Barber describe the secret tally sheets and intense political negotiations behind the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment in the House of Representatives. The account captures the high-stakes environment in Congress during the final months of the Civil War.

Slavery and legal classifications in Kentucky Ivan E. McDougle analyzes how Kentucky law classified enslaved people as personal property to satisfy estate debts, while chronicling the active slave markets operating in Louisville. The study also traces the resistance of local churches and the high rate of runaways seeking freedom across the Ohio River.

Colonial laws against miscegenation Carter G. Woodson explores the origins of race mixing in colonial Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, documenting how colonial legislatures enacted harsh penalties against intermarriage to preserve plantation labor systems and enforce racial hierarchies.

Self-reliance in the Buxton Settlement Fred Landon presents statistical reports and visitor accounts from the Buxton Settlement in Canada, demonstrating the economic productivity, agricultural success, and educational achievements of self-governing Black refugees.

Constitutional debates over representation and trade Primary records from the Constitutional Convention reveal intense arguments among the Framers regarding the three-fifths ratio, the continuation of the foreign slave trade, and the definition of state quotas, illustrating how slavery was embedded in the nation's foundational framework.

The People

• Josiah Henson: A former enslaved man who escapes to Canada, publishes his life story, and works tirelessly to raise funds to liberate his brother. He wants to secure the freedom of his family and build a self-sustaining life, navigating the demoralizing trauma inflicted by chattel slavery.
• Thomas Jefferson: The third U.S. President, who wrestles with the logistics of emancipation, racial integration, and colonization. He seeks viable geographic areas—such as Santo Domingo or frontier territories—to relocate freed populations, driven by a conviction that cohabitation between races without conflict is impossible.
• Edward Coles: The anti-slavery Governor of Illinois who actively corresponds with Quaker leaders like Roberts Vaux to distribute anti-slavery tracts. He faces intense political sabotage from pro-slavery opponents attempting to oust him from executive office.
• Henry Clay: A Kentucky Senator and framer of the Compromise of 1850 who advocates for gradual emancipation alongside slaveholder indemnification. He struggles to balance his home state's economic frustration over runaway slaves with national unionist compromises.
• Luther Martin: A Maryland delegate to the Constitutional Convention who forcefully opposes the continuation of the African slave trade. He argues that slaveholding weakens national security, degrades national honor, and unjustly forces free states to protect slaveholding states against domestic insurrections.

In Its Own Voice

When reflecting on the profound human narratives embedded within American history, the journal highlights the dramatic reality of the Black experience:

"No one ever uttered a more forceful truth than Frederika Bremer when she said in speaking to Americans: 'The fate of the Negro is the romance of your history.'"

In analyzing the legal decisions that limited federal protection for Black citizens, John R. Lynch points directly to the dangerous judicial precedents of his era:

"The unfortunate thing about those decisions is the wide scope of authority thus conceded to the States. In other words, they amount to a judicial recognition of the dangerous doctrine of States Rights--a doctrine which has been the source and the cause of most of our domestic troubles and misfortunes since those decisions were rendered."

During the Constitutional Convention, Luther Martin warned his fellow delegates of the moral and political dangers of supporting the slave trade:

"When those States find, that they must, in their national character and connexion, suffer in the disgrace, and share in the inconveniences attendant upon that detestable and iniquitous traffic, they may be desirous also to share in the benefits arising from it..."

What It's Really About

The Journal of Negro History, Volume 3, 1918 is fundamentally about the systematic collection and presentation of Black agency, intellect, and legal history in the face of institutional erasure. The volume argues that African Americans have been central actors in shaping the political, legal, and economic landscape of the United States. Through rigorous documentation, the contributors demonstrate that Black Americans actively constructed their own institutions—such as Howard University and the Buxton Settlement—while continuously challenging disenfranchisement through state conventions, runaway networks, and judicial appeals.

Underneath its historical and legal analyses, the volume interrogates the contradictions of American democracy. It explores how white political leadership repeatedly compromised constitutional principles to preserve slaveholding interests and states' rights, from the Constitutional Convention of 1787 to post-Reconstruction Supreme Court rulings. The text contrasts the legislative barriers created to enforce racial subordination with the persistent efforts of Black scholars, inventors, and citizens to achieve self-determination and full civic recognition.

Why Read It Today

This volume remains a vital resource for readers interested in primary source documentation, early African American historiography, and the legal history of race in America. Rather than offering a single overarching narrative, it provides an authentic, unfiltered look into early 20th-century historical methodology and archival recovery. Readers who appreciate rigorous, unvarnished historical research will find rich insights in its detailed accounts of local governance, church divisions, and congressional maneuvering.

Reading this collection requires navigating varied prose styles, dry statistical data, and detailed legal analyses. The text includes historical transcripts that retain archaic spellings, obsolete phrasing, and period-specific terminology that reflect the biases and legal realities of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The inclusion of primary court records, legislative minutes, and personal correspondence means the pacing varies widely from narrative biography to dense document analysis.

What stays with the reader is the sheer breadth of Black achievement and resistance recorded within these pages. From Benjamin Banneker's mathematical genius to the thriving agricultural enterprise of the Buxton refugees, the volume offers a concrete, evidence-based antidote to historical neglect, demonstrating the enduring resilience of communities built under the shadow of oppression.