John Hope Franklin has devoted his professional life to the study of the American South and African Americans. Originally published in 1943 by UNC Press, The Free Negro in North Carolina, 1790-1860 was his first book on the subject. As Franklin shows, freed blacks in the antebellum South did not enjoy the full rights of citizenship. Even in North Carolina, reputedly more liberal than most southern states, discriminatory laws became so harsh that some voluntarily returned to slavery.

When Franklin wrote The Free Negro in North Carolina, the subject of free blacks had received scant attention from scholars. Since then, however, the topic has generated a great deal of interest. In a new foreword to this edition, Franklin surveys the scholarship on free blacks that has appeared since the original publication of his study, and he reaffirms the importance of understanding the variations and complexities of the African American experience.