Mapping Freedom 2023

*Last updated: June 30, 2024*

To discuss the process of emancipation of enslaved peoples in the Southern states is to discuss key philosophical concepts such as morality, ethics, and equality. These concepts were well-documented when debated on political floors and battlefields partly because leaders in these spheres used vocabulary deemed important to the national narrative. Some historians assume, then, that the average Southern citizen didn’t interact with these concepts due to their absence from the national stage documentation or circumstances of their lives; but, Southern citizens engaged with morality, ethics, and equality applied to emancipation through interactions within their local churches. 

The research and supplemental resources presented on this site are the product of my role as a student researcher for the Mapping Freedom Project housed at the University of Southern Mississippi (USM). I was selected to participate in this role, along with nine other undergraduates from around the country, through its designation as a Nation Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU), typically abbreviated as NSF-REU. My research was made possible through funding from the NSF and support from faculty and graduate students at USM and Mississippi State University.