Negro Act of 1740

The comprehensive Negro Act of 1740 was passed in the Province of South Carolina, during colonial Governor William Bull's time in office, in response to the Stono Rebellion in 1739.[1]

The act made it illegal for enslaved Africans to move abroad, assemble in groups, raise food, earn money, and learn to write (though reading was not proscribed). Additionally, owners were permitted to kill rebellious slaves if necessary.[2] The Act remained in effect until 1865.[3]

John Belton O'Neall summarized the 1740 South Carolina law, in his written work, The Negro Law of South Carolina, when he stated: "A slave may, by the consent of his master, acquire and hold personal property. All, thus required, is regarded in law as that of the master."[4][5] Across the South, state supreme courts supported the position of this law.[6] O'Neall was the only one to express protest against the Act, arguing for the propriety of receiving testimony from enslaved Africans (many of whom, by 1848, were Christians) under oath: "Negroes (slave or free) will feel the sanctions of an oath, with as much force as any of the ignorant classes of white people, in a Christian country."[7][5]

References
  1. Konadu, Kwasi (2010-05-12). The Akan Diaspora in the Americas. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19974538-8.
  2. "Slavery and the Making of America . Timeline | PBS". www.pbs.org. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  3. Gabbatt, Adam (24 October 2017). "A sign on scrubland marks one of America's largest slave uprisings. Is this how to remember black heroes?". Guardian US. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  4. Morris, Thomas (21 Jan 2004). Southern Slavery and the Law, 1619-1860. Univ of North Carolina Press. p. 350. ISBN 9780807864302. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  5. O'Neall, John Belton. "The Negro Law of South Carolina". Internet Archive. J.G. Bowman. Retrieved 29 May 2018. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  6. Penningroth, Dylan (21 July 2004). The Claims of Kinfolk: African American Property and Community in the Nineteenth-Century South. UNC Press Books. p. 208. ISBN 9780807862131. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  7. Finkelman, Paul (17 December 2001). Slavery & the Law. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 216. ISBN 9780742521193. Retrieved 3 June 2018.

"An Act for the Better Ordering and Governing of Negroes and Other Slaves in this Province" or Slave Code of South Carolina, May 1740 full transcription of original text

"An Act for the Better Ordering and Governing of Negroes and Other Slaves in this Province" or Slave Code of South Carolina, May 1740 Scan of original handwritten document

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