New Jersey: African Americans

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16:16

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At the time of the Revolution, New Jersey’s population included roughly 12,000 enslaved people. Enslaved men sometimes served as substitutes for their enslavers in the Continental Army. Samuel Sutphin was promised freedom by Caspar Berger for three years of service, but Berger denied the promise and sold him instead. William Stives enlisted at eighteen as a fifer for Washington's army. Jonathan Sergeant proposed using enslaved men as a home guard in exchange for freedom, but Congress rejected the plan, partly at South Carolina's insistence. Cudjo Banquante—also known as Jack—served with Washington from Morristown in 1777 through Yorktown, earned his freedom and an acre of land, and became Newark's first documented Black businessman. His gardens were celebrated in newspapers decades after his death, and his descendants were recently reunited with relatives in Ghana.

Interviewees

Elaine Buck
- Co-Founder, Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum
- Co-Author of Harmony and Hostility: A View from the Mountain
Beverly Mills
- Co-Founder, Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum
- Co-Author of Harmony and Hostility: A View from the Mountain

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