Slavery and Racism in Florence, Alabama, 1841-1862

SLAVERY AND RACISM IN FLORENCE, ALABAMA, 1841-1862 Kenneth R. Johnson Numerous studies have been made of slavery on the great cotton plantations of the South; however, relatively little has been written about slavery in the towns. Since Richard Wade's pioneer study entitled Slavery in the Cities appeared in 1964, an increasing amount of attention has been given the subject. Wade and his followers have been concerned mainly with the larger cities.1 It is my purpose to examine some aspects of slavery and racism as they existed in a small town. Such a study may reveal far more about Southern life, white values and attitudes, and the black American experience than an analysis of the plantations or larger cities. In the small communities, white and black Americans not only met in an economic relationship, but they also met each other as human beings. In the small towns, the relationship between profitable use of slave labor and relative freedom given the slave in urban situations is most clear. Also, the town provided a setting for an obvious conflict between the social responsibility of the slave owners and the search for profitable use of slave labor at minimum cost, control, and inconvenience. The small town also exemplifies the conflict between the laisse/ faire concept of government responsibility and the maintenance of an orderly society when slaves make up a part of that society. Florence, Alabama was founded in 1818 by a group of land speculators who were convinced that its location at the headwaters of the navigable portion of the Tennessee River would make it a great commercial center. While Florence did not grow as rapidly as the founders had expected , it did make progress, and in 1826, it was incorporated by the Alabama legislature. The charter placed governing authority in the hands of a board of aldermen elected by the qualified voters each year. The board elected one of its members to serve as mayor and appointed officials such as town constable, treasurer, and tax assessor. The area 1 Richard C Wade, Slavery in the Cities: The South 1820-1860 (New York, 1964), pp. 243-82; Elinor Miller and Eugene D. Genovese, eds., Phntation Town andCounty, Essays on the LocalHistory of American Slave Society (Chicago, 1974), pp. 335-452. The Author acknowledges assistance in the form of a research grant from the University of North Alabama. Civil War 1 listory, Vol. XXVII, No. 2 Copyright® 1981 by The Kent State University Press 0009-8078/81/2701-0004 $01.00/0 156CIVIL WAR HISTORY surrounding Florence was rapidly settled by planters and farmers who looked to Florence as the political, economic, and cultural center for the area. Lauderdale County, in which Florence was situated, had a population of 10,639 whites and 6,781 blacks in 1860. A special census taken in Florence in 1857 showed that it had a population of 1,763, including 1,216 white persons, 526 slaves, and 21 free Negroes.2 Slavery was a part of life in Florence from the day it was founded, yet town officials did not use slave labor in a significant way until 1841 . All during the 1840s, the town hired from three to eight slaves each year on an annual basis. The hiring prices of slaves varied from $80 to $150 per year for each adult slave and were about $50 per year for slave boys between the ages of fourteen and eighteen. In 1841, for example, three slaves were hired for $150 per year, while in 1846 three were hired from "among several offers" for $80 each. In 1847, five slaves were hired at the rate of $100 each per year, and a slave boy was hired for $40.3 Hiring agreements between the town and slave owners always made provision for food, clothing, and lodging. Owners were responsible for medical care and sometimes provided food, clothing, and lodging for the slaves. When the town provided clothing, such items as shoes, blankets, hats, coats, and other factory-made items were purchased from local merchants. Garments were made locally. Cloth was purchased by the town, and white women were hired to make shirts and pants. In the 1840s, Mrs...