A Peculiar Imbalance: The Fall and Rise of Racial Equality in Minnesota, 1837-1869
 
A Peculiar Imbalance is the little-known history of the black experience in Minnesota n the mid-1800s, a time of dramatic change in the region. William D. Green explains how, as white progressive politicians pushed for statehood, black men who were integrated members of the community, owning businesses and maintaining good relationships with their neighbors, found themselves denied the right to vote or to run for office in those same communities. 
 
As Minnesota was transformed from a wilderness territory to a state, the concepts of race and ethnicity and the distinctions among them made by Anglo-Americans grew more rigid and arbitrary. A black man might enjoy economic success and a middle-class lifestyle but was not considered a citizen under the law. In contrast, an Irish Catholic man was able to vote---as could a mixed blood Indian--but might struggle to build a business because of ethnic and religious prejudices of the Anglo-American community. A Peculiar Imbalance examines these disparities, reflecting on the political, social, and legal experiences of black men from 1837 to 1869, the year of black suffrage. 
 
Paperback
Author: William D. Green
Published By: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2007
185 pages