James Forten- Who was he and what was his contribution?

The era of Antebellum America came with lots of discriminations and hardships among the black people without the consideration of whether they were enslaved or free. Despite the fact that free blacks in America had few rights as well as privileges, their situation was not better than those enslaved since they had inadequate education and moreover faced legal segregation. The passing of famous fugitive slave laws in 1973 worsen the situation of the blacks as it gave the slave owners the capacity to retrieve their slaves anywhere in America (William and William 465). With this, slave owners had the power to capture or even kidnap any black they got pleased with even if they were not their slaves. On the other hand, these African-Americans had no right to fight against it. In addition, the laws hindered the free movement of the blacks across the nation. The initiatives of James Forten who was an African-American abolitionist and wealthy businessman brought a sigh of relief to the blacks. He used his standing and wealth to work for civil rights for African Americans as well as national abolition of slavery, for black education, as well as temperance (Hugh 591). Thus, James Forten’s career, as well as public activism, brought a relief to African American at a time when slavery and discrimination were the order of the day in America. Historical Background The antebellum period marked years which were well known for injustice of slavery. This was from the union formation to the civil war. Living in the north or south determined one’s ability to speak out. Free blacks who lived in the south faced lots of slavery, were not allowed to travel or come together freely to establish a church, school among others unlike their counterparts in the north. Although the freed blacks in the north had better lives, the contrary was that they were discriminated against. Moreover, they lacked full rights, had no power to own lands in certain areas and rarely could they present a case against someone (Newman et al. 1831). They were also restricted from accessing cert...

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