I ran across a fact that surprised me. . . and I consider myself well informed.
At the 1850 census the percentage of people in the South who were still slaves was less than 35% of the total number of people listed as being of negro ethnicity. The rest were counted as free. They still could not vote, but they were not slaves, and many of the freed men owned property or their own businesses.
So what accounts for the freeman and how were they able to operate as landowners and business owners?