Gradual emancipation (United States)
Gradual emancipation was a legal mechanism used by some states to abolish slavery over some time, such as An Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery of 1780 in Pennsylvania.[1]
History
In the 16th century,
The Age of Enlightenment of the late 17th century influenced increasing support for emancipation in the 18th century.[2] In the 1770s, Black people throughout New England began sending petitions to northern legislatures demanding freedom.[3] Pennsylvania's An Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery of 1780 was the first legislative enactment in the United States.[4] It specified that
Every Negro and Mulatto child born within the State after the passing of the Act (1780) would be free upon reaching age twenty-eight."[4]
Once the Pennsylvania residents were freed, they were supposed to be treated the same as indentured servants who were contracted for four years of service. For instance, they were to receive tools of their trade or other privileges.[4]
Four other Northern states adopted policies to at least gradually abolish slavery:
Abraham Lincoln proposed an amendment to the Constitution for gradual emancipation in 1861 and 1862, culminating with the Second Message to Congress in December 1862. However, he realized that immediate emancipation was what was needed, because there was increasing support for emancipation in the north and slaves helped the Confederates during the war. This led to the Emancipation Proclamation, which went into effect on January 1, 1863.[7] The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified at the end of the war, making slavery illegal in every state, and all enslaved people were freed.[8]
See also
- Back-to-Africa movement
- Compensated emancipation
- Slave states and free states
- Timeline of abolition of slavery and serfdom
- Timeline of events leading to the American Civil War
References
- ^ "Slavery and the Making of America . The Slave Experience: Freedom & Emancipation". Thirteen - PBS. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
- ^ a b "Emancipation Movements". Slavery and Remembrance, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-513755-2.
- ^ a b c "Abolition of Slavery". PHMC - Our Documentary Heritage. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
- )
- ^ 1860 United States census#Population of U.S. states and territories
- ^ "Emancipation". Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
- ^ "The Slave Experience: Freedom & Emancipation". PBS - Slavery and the Making of America. Retrieved 2021-05-08.