Most people in Pennsylvania and the New England states believed that the slavery practiced in the other colonies was against the American principles of “all men are created equal” and the guarantee of “life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness”. Unfortunately, for the sake of winning their own freedom against the oppressive British tyranny, they were willing to compromise and join a union of states which did allow rights of blacks to be violated.
At various times, the importation of slaves is prohibited in various states. In 1777, Vermont becomes the first colony to abolish slavery. In 1780, the Massachusetts Constitution is adopted with a freedom clause that is interpreted as abolishing slavery. To prevent cruelty to slaves, owners in South Carolina were prohibited from working slaves more than 15 hours between March 25 and September 25 and not more than 14 hours between September 25 and March 25. In 1780, Pennsylvania adopted a law that gradually emancipated slaves that are born after 1780 when they turn twenty-eight. In 1784, Connecticut and Rhode Island adopted gradual emancipation laws. In 1785, slavery was prohibited in the newly formed Northwest Territories. In 1799, New York adopted a gradual emancipation law. In 1804, New Jersey adopted a gradual emancipation law. Southern states began making demands that for every Free State admitted to the union, there must also be a slave state admitted to the union. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 made slavery illegal in the Louisiana territory that is north of the Missouri border. Missouri was admitted as a slave state and Maine was admitted as a free state. In 1844 slavery was prohibited in Oregon. In 1850, California was admitted as a free state. As a compromise, the slave states Utah and New Mexico were admitted without restrictions, but the slave trade was banned in Washington D.C. In 1858, Kansas was admitted to the Union as a free state. In 1863, slavery was abolished in Utah. In 1864, the Fugitive Slave Law was repealed. Slavery was abolished in Louisiana, Arkansas, and Missouri. [1]
I have heard some people say that Negro slavery in America was not that bad—that slave owners usually treated their slaves well, and that could win their freedom when they were treated too harshly. I haven’t found any evidence of the latter. In fact, in Virginia, for the commission of petty offenses; slaves could be whipped, branded, or maimed. [1] In 1723, manumission became illegal in Virginia. [1] A person of color was not permitted to testify against a white Christian, according to a 1717 Maryland law.[2] Another Maryland law declared that slaves would be punished by death, branding, or whipping if found guilty for murder, arson, larceny, association with whites, insolence, and traveling without permission. [1] Slaves in Virginia were also not allowed to leave the plantation without written permission from their master. This was punishable by 60 lashes [1] (which goes beyond the limit of 40 set by Mosaic Law, Deuteronomy 25:2, 3) and placement in a pillory where the slave’s ears were cut off. [1] The only punishment which is as harsh as this under the Mosaic Law is the cutting off the hand (Deuteronomy 25:12), but this was for something else, not for disobedient slaves. In the case, State v. Mann, North Carolina Supreme Court justice Thomas Ruffin ruled that masters could not be prosecuted for assaulting their slaves. In 1740, the Negro Act is passed in South Carolina. The act made it illegal for slaves to gather in groups, earn money, learn to read, and raise food. The act permits owners to kill rebellious slaves. [1]
Slavery was not just legal, but was subsidized. In 1663, the proprietors of North Carolina encouraged settlers to have slaves by promising that they would be given 20 acres of land for every black male slave and 10 acres for every black female slave brought to the colony within the first year. [1]
In 1819, blacks were prohibited from learning to read in Virginia. An 1831 North Carolina law prohibits teaching slaves from learning to read and write. In 1831, Virginia passed a law that prohibits slaves from gathering at night for religious services. [1] In 1844 free blacks are denied citizenships in North Carolina. [1] In 1837, Pennsylvania and Mississippi took away the right of blacks to vote. [1] In 1712, freed blacks are prohibited from owning property in New York. The 1857 Dred Scott decision denied citizenship to all slaves, ex-slaves, and slave descendants. The decision effectively declared that blacks were only property and not persons under the law. The modern day equivalent is the Roe v. Wade decision which declares that unborn babies are not persons under the law.
In Maryland and in other states, blacks were forbidden from marrying whites. The Bible says that it is wrong to forbid people from marrying. Miriam was struck with leprosy when she spoke against Moses for marrying an Ethiopian woman. Solomon’s romance in the Song of Solomon was to a black woman. (Moses and Solomon were not “white”, but surely anything that would apply to a Jew should also be allowed for a Caucasian.)
Some people criticize the Lincoln administration for suspending the writ of habeas corpus and for violating the first amendment by having people arrested for speaking out against the Civil War. These critics should also consider that in 1836 the U.S. House of Representatives adopted a “gag rule” which automatically tabled abolitionist material. [1]
Slavery was something that God did not intend in the beginning, but allowed it under certain conditions and with certain limitations in the Old Testament. Slavery in America went well beyond these limitations, especially in states south of Pennsylvania. The Old Testament had guidelines for how a person could become a slave. There is nothing in the Bible that says slaves could be prohibited from owning property. Though Americans were not the ones who originally enslaved the blacks, they were guilty of encouraging and participating in the unjust treatment of those who were most likely wrongfully enslaved by Biblical standards. The fact that a certain race was singled out for unjust treatment is what makes this all the more disturbing. For more about slavery under the Law of Moses, see my previous post. Also see what Greg wrote about slavery in the world today. I will have more to say about this in my next post.
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