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African-Americans
in New Bedford
See
also "Heroes in the Ships" for more information on African-Americans
in the Whaling Industry.
Captain Paul Cuffe
(though the engraving spells the name with two Es). Engraving,
1812, from Abrm. L. Pennock by Mason & Maas, from a drawing
by John Pole, M.D. of Bristol, England. Size: 6 3/4 x 5 in.
Gift of Miss Lizzie Leonard - 1904.43.
From ODHS Collection. |
Among
the early residents
African-Americans have been a presence in New Bedford since its
early days. Runaway and freed slaves were attracted by the Quaker
majority's early (1716) opposition to slavery and the prospect
of employment on whaleships. Free seamen from continental Africa,
the Cape Verde Islands, and the Caribbean also became part of
the African-American heritage of New Bedford.
Finding
jobs at sea
Blacks served among the crews of whaleships before the American
Revolution (1775-1783). Some were runaway slaves, like Crispus
Attucks, who spent twenty years as a whaler and merchant seaman,
before he was killed in the Boston Massacre (1775), or John Thompson
from Maryland, who found safe haven on the New Bedford Bark Milwood
on its 1842-1844 voyage. Others were free Africans or West Indians.
It is known that more than 3,000 African-Americans served on New
Bedford whalers between 1803 and 1860. However, after the turn
of the twentieth century, Cape Verdeans became the backbone of
the whaling industry.
Mates
and masters
Although a number of African-Americans served as boatsteerers
(harpooneers) and a few as mates (officers), they rarely rose
to the post of captain. Absalom Boston, Pardon Cook, and Paul
Cuffe were three notable African-American whaling masters.
There were also a few African-American captains who went to sea
with all-African-American crews. They represented a small percentage
of all whaling vessels.
The
Temple toggle iron
The toggle harpoon head developed in 1848 by Lewis
Temple, an African-American blacksmith in New Bedford, was
the most successful of all harpoon designs.
Decline in number of African-American
seafarers
After 1830, there were decreasing numbers of African-Americans
on whaleships. During the 1840s, there were an average of two
per vessel; and one or none during the 1850s. Increasingly, African-
Americans were given less favored positions. There were several
reasons:
* As the number of white immigrants increased, they competed with
African- Americans for jobs; * "Landsharks," who controlled the
labor supply to merchant ships and whalers, increasingly excluded
African-Americans; * Racism increased between the 1830s and 1860s,
fueled by the debate over slavery that led to the Civil War (1861-1865).
Frederick Douglass
After the American Revolution (1750-1783), the northern states
abolished slavery. Massachusetts took the step in 1780. New Bedford
became an important stop on the "underground railway," a network
of people opposed to slavery, who hid runaway slaves in homes
and churches. Frederick Douglass found refuge in New Bedford from
1837-1841. He worked at Coffin's Wharf before becoming a renowned
abolitionist, orator, politician, and writer.
Other notable African-Americans in New
Bedford
* Elizabeth Carter Brooks, daughter of a freed slave, founded
the New Bedford Home for the Aged in 1897; * William H. Carney
-- for his service during the Civil War, in the 54th regiment
-- he became the first African-American to win the Congressional
Medal of Honor; * Dr. Juan Drummond was the first woman of her
race to become a physician in turn-of-the- century southeastern
Massachusetts; * James Henry Gooding, served as a corporal in
the 54th Massachusetts Infantry, a famous black regiment, which
fought with valor during the Civil War. Gooding, who petitioned
President Abraham Lincoln for pay for black soldiers, later died
at Andersonville, one of 13,000 Union soldiers who died in that
Confederate prison camp.
Historic landmarks
Local organizations plan to preserve three houses on Seventh and
Spring Streets once owned by Nathan and Mary Johnson, local African-
American abolitionists. Douglass and other slaves who escaped
from servitude were hidden in these houses.
Black Heritage Trail
The trail commemorates some of the significant landmarks of African-American
history in New Bedford, and local cultural organizations have
presented related exhibits and programs. A recent exhibit by the
Old Dartmouth Historical Society-New Bedford Whaling Museum explored
the role of local African- American soldiers in the Union army
during the Civil War.
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