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James Forten and the Factor of Race in Philadelphia's Antebellum Business Commu "You Know I Am a Man of Business": JamesForten and the Factor of Race in Philadelphia'sAntebellum BusinessCommunity Julie Winch HistoryDepartment UniversityofMassachusetts Boston SirCharles Lyell was perplexed. Visiting Philadelphia in Marchof 1842, he witnessedthe funeralprocession of African-Americanentrepreneur James Forten.He wasimpressed by the manyhundreds of people,black and white, rich andpoor, who joinedin payingtheir respects. Surely this must indicate that the deceasedhad beenheld in highregard by all classesof society,and that,in hiscase, racial prejudice had been set aside. I wasrejoicing that his colour had proved no impedimentto his risingin the world,and that he hadbeen allowed so muchfair play as to succeedin over-toppingthe majorityof his white competitors,when I learnt...notlong before his death,he had beenespecially mortified, because...his sons had been refused a hearing at a public meeting...to speak on some subject connectedwith trade[Lyell, 1843, p. 207]. Perhapsthe editorof the antislaveryjournal The Herald of Freedom could havehelped the Englishmanunderstand the situation.As he observed,to "The whitemen in Philadelphia...Itwould have seemed a sortof sacrilegeto despise [Forten],and they madehim an exceptionto his race" [Heraldof Freedomin La'berator,April 8, 1842].Being "an exception to hisrace" was hardly a comfort- ablerole for James Forten. It meantthat, although he could"rise in theworld," therewere certain bounds he andhis childrencould not overstep.But what werethose bounds? How did Fortentry to negotiatehis way aroundthem? Whenwas he successful,and when did the forcesof racialproscription prove too powerfuleven for someoneof histact and ingenuity? JamesForten was born in a modesthome in Philadelphia'sDock Ward on September2, 1766.His father,Thomas Forten, was freeborn, but Thomas was the grandsonof an Africanslave who had beenbrought to the infant colonyof Pennsylvaniain the 1680s[Gloucester, 1843, p. 18].James's mother, Margaret,had probablyspent her earlyyears in bondage.She bore her first child,James's sister Abigail, when she was 41. Shewas 44 whenJames was born. In an era whenmost white couplesmarried and beganestablishing familieswhile they were in theirmid- to latetwenties, James and Margaret had BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC HISTORY, Volumetwenty-six, no. 1, Fall1997. Copyright¸1997 by theBusiness History Conference. ISSN 0894-6825. 213 214 / JULIE WINCH beenforced to wait.The mostlikely reason why wasthat Margaretwas not legallyfree. Had sheborne children before her freedom had been granted by her master,or purchasedby herselfand her husband,they would have been condemnedto servitude.As it was,Abigail and James Forten began their lives with an advantagefew childrenof Africandescent enjoyed in the eighteenth century.They were legally free. In a citywhere the vastmajority of blackpeople were slaves, and free peopleof colorwere generally confined to themost menial of occupations,the Fortenfamily was exceptional. Thomas Forten had a skilledtrade. He wasa journeymanin RobertBridges' sail-loft and a small-scalecontractor in hisown right.He wasanxious to passon hisskills to hisson. Under Thomas Forten's tutelage,young James learned the elements of thesailmaker's craft. One day he mightbecome an apprentice, and in timegraduate to journeyman,but thatwas a longway off. WhenThomas died suddenly in 1773,an apprenticeshipfor his sonseemed a veryremote possibility indeed. Thomas Forten had managed to feed,clothe, and house his wife andchildren. However, like most journeymen, irrespectiveof race,he hadnot beenable to amassmuch in theway of savings. His familywas left with verylittle to live on whenhe died.It fell to Margaret Fortento supportherself and her children.Most likelyshe became a domestic or took in washing.Despite the family'sdesperate situation, she struggled to giveJames some formal education, sending him on a part-timebasis to the Quakers'"African School," but povertyforced him to quitat agenine and go outto workfull-time, cleaning and derking for a whitegrocer [Purvis, 1842, p. 3]. The Revolutionbecame a crudalreference point in JamesForten's life, as it did in the livesof so manyof his contemporaries.Ideological contra- dictionsconfronted him - therhetoric about "freedom" from British "slavery," boldstatements about the rightsof manthat seemed not to includeall men- but in purelypractical terms the war meant new opportunities. In the summerof 1781,when he wasalmost fifteen, James Forten went to seaas a powder-boyon theRoyalLouis, one of thelargest and most heavily- armedprivateers to sailout of the portof Philadelphia.Her captain,Stephen Decatur,St., alreadyhad an impressivelist of prizesto hisname, and, humble thoughhis rank was, Forten had every reason to hopefor a goodshare of prize moneyat theend of thevoyage. His f•rstcruise was a greatsuccess. He returnedhome unscathed and, as he hadanticipated, with money in hispockets. He immediatelysigned on again. His secondvoyage ended swiftly and disastrouslywhen the RoyalLouis fell in withtwo British warships soon after leaving the relative safety of theDelaware. After tryingand failing to outrunthe Britishvessels, Captain Decatur acknow- ledgeddefeat. He was outgunnedand he knew it. He hauleddown the Americancolors, gave up the ship,and he andhis men were taken aboard on H.M.S.Amphion to awaittransfer to a prison-hulk.That wasbad enough, but JamesForten feared an evenworse fate awaitedhim - transportationto the BritishWest Indies as a slave[Purvis, 1842, pp. 6-7]. Ironically,.given the desperateplight he was in, Fortencould have done very well for himselfat this point.The commanderof the Amphion,John "YOU KNOW I AM A MAN OF BUSINESS"/215 Bazely,was "struck by hishonest countenance," and chose him to watchover his youngson, Henry. Twelve-year-old Henry Bazely was making his first voyagein preparationfor a careerin theRoyal Navy. The boywas bored and wasconstandy getting in everyone'sway. Someone had to keephim occupied andout of trouble.As a prisonerat the mercyof the Britishcaptain, Forten couldhardly refuse the assignment. Over the next few days a friendshipdevel- opedbetween James Forten and his young charge. As the Amphion neared the Loyaliststronghold of New York,and the flotillaof prison-shipsat anchor in theharbor, Henry Bazely begged his father to sparehis friend. The resultwas an invitationfrom CaptainBazely to changeallegiances, go to England,be educatedwith Henry, and then be established in a goodtrade under the Bazely family'spatronage. To the amazementof fatherand son,Forten rejected the offer,insisting he couldnot betrayhis country.Despite Forten's refusal to, accepthis invitation,Captain Bazely did whathe couldto protecthim and ensuxehe wasnot enslaved.He wroteto the commanderof the prison-ship Jersey,to whichthe crewof the RoyalLouis was to be sent,requesting that Fortenbe treatedthe sameas the otherAmerican prisoners and exchanged as soonas possible. That was something, but the seven months he spenton board the infamousJersey almost killed Forten. He returnedto Philadelphiain the springof 1782aftex a generalexchange of prisonersto find hismother and sisterhad long since given him up for dead. In lateryears James Forten would make much of hiswartime service, citinghis patriotism and his sufferings as reasons why he shouldbe grantedfull civilrights. He wouldearn the praise of manyin theantislavery movement, and even the grudgingrespect of manyin the white communitywho had no sympathywhatsoever for abolitionor blackdemands for equaltreatment. However,that is an aspectof Forten'sremarkable career that is beyondthe scopeof thisessay. What was important in termsof hisfuture success was that he learnedon histwo privateeringvoyages how to handleand repair sails under the most difficult of conditions. Whenpeace came, James Forten ventured off to seaagain. His sister's husband,a merchantseaman, persuaded Forten to signup with him for a voyageto Englandon CaptainThomas Truxtun's ship, the Commerce[Purvis, 1842,p. 8]. Whenthey reached London, Forten asked Truxtun to payhim off. He intendedto stayfor a while.Although it is temptingto imagineForten makinghis way from Londonto Dover,where the Bazelyslived, presenting himselfon theirdoorstep, and reclaiming their friendship, there is not a scrap of evidenceto suggesthe eversaw them again after he left the Amphion.He settledin London,where he founda sizableblack community and the chance of work.The war had left manyshipyards and sail-loftsalong the Thames short-handed,and for a youthwith a knowledgeof theelements of sailmaking employmentwas easy to find [Walvin,1973, pp. 47-57,61, 72].James Forten stayeda yearin London. In 1785he returnedto Philadelphiaand apprenticed himself to Robert Bridges,his father's old employer.However, this was no ordinaryapprentice- ship.At 19 Fortenwas olderand more experiencedthan the majorityof 216 / JULIE WINCH apprentices.Advancement came quickly. Within a yearhe wasthe foremanof the loft, with Bridgesquelling a minorrebellion among the whitemen in the workforceto keephim in thatposition of authority[Purvis, 1842, p. 9]. In the normalcourse of eventsJames Forten could have expected to continueas foreman for therest of hisdays, employed by Bridges,and then by whichever of his sons or sons-in-lawinherited the business.However, as he may haveknown from the momenthe signedhis indentures,that wasnot Bridges'intention. RobertBridges had become a sailmakerthrough force of circumstance. His merchantfather had diedyoung, and his motherhad boundhim out to learna trade.He
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