Abstract
Although historians have long noted that African-Americans of mixed-race in the antebellum Lower South were given economic and social preference over those with darker skin, they have denied that people of mixed race received special treatment in the antebellum Upper South as well. Examination of data on the registrations of free African-Americans in antebellum Virginia, however, reveals that adolescents and adults with lighter complexions tended to have a height advantage, which suggests that they enjoyed better nutrition.
This content is only available as a PDF.
© 2002 Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the editors of The Journal of Interdisciplinary History
2002
You do not currently have access to this content.