Final answer:
The largest free Black urban population between 1820 and 1860 was in the upper southern states. Significant free Black populations were also in Northern cities, which had established networks aiding in self-emancipation and freedom seeking.
Step-by-step explanation:
Free Black Urban Population Between 1820 and 1860
The largest free Black urban population between 1820 and 1860 could be found in the upper southern states of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and later Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, and the District of Columbia. While many free Black individuals lived in the South compared to the North, the densest free Black populations were not in the Deep South states like Alabama or Mississippi. This distribution stemmed from factors such as manumission post-Revolution, a shift to crops requiring less slave labor, and already-established free Black communities from before the Louisiana Purchase.
Significant free Black populations also existed in Northern cities such as Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, and others, where they had established social networks and escape networks to Canada. The transition from slave labor crops also contributed to the growth of the free Black population in these areas.