Talk:List of last survivors of American slavery

Anna J. Cooper

Should Anna J. Cooper be added?--Tibby57721 (talk) 10:03, 3 July 2021 (UTC)

Added, thank you for the link! Swampyank (talk) 18:46, 6 July 2021 (UTC)

Move discussion in progress

There is a move discussion in progress on Talk:List of enslaved people which affects this page. Please participate on that page and not in this talk page section. Thank you. —RMCD bot 04:02, 16 November 2021 (UTC)

Fake cases?

Many of these cases are probably fake, like Sylvester Magee and Mary Hardway Walker, due to them having extreme ages, I think every case of 110 years+ should be removed unless verified by the GRG, or at least pending. 108.30.203.46 (talk) 18:11, 13 January 2022 (UTC)

I agree the ages are suspicious even if they're not discredited yet. Even if they were born into slavery, the ages are probably inaccurate. Rather than removing entirely, maybe they should be labeled as suspicious or put in the discredited section if there are sources suggesting they are inaccurate.Swampyank (talk) 18:30, 13 January 2022 (UTC)

Numerous False Statement in Opening Statement of This Article

"Slavery existed in the United States from its inception in 1619".

The United States did not officially exist until 1789. The minimum required number of former colonies required to ratify the Constitution was not achieved until 1788, with the government established under the Constitution officially starting on March 4, 1789.

The blacks that arrived in Virginia in 1619 were captured by privateers and sold as indentured servants. Had the privateers not captured them from slave ships they would have been sent to Mexico and sold as slaves. Slavery was not legal in Virginia until 1661. Indentured servants, including many blacks, could earn their freedom upon which they were granted 50 acres of land by the colony. By 1650 there were 300 black indentured servants and over 4,000 white indentured servants.

Slavery existed in what was to become the United States long before 1619 among the Native Americans.

"to its partial abolition with the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution on December 6, 1865, under which it was abolished nationally."

Slavery never existed in most areas of the U.S.

In many areas it had already been abolished or not practiced prior to 1865. Congress had also passed numerous laws prior to 1865 restricting the practice of slavery.

During the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783) the importation of slaves were banned in all 13 colonies as a embargo against British goods which included slaves.

Banning slavery was one of the major topics during 1787 Constitutional negotiations; however, slave owners still held too much power. If slavery was banned outright the former colonies where slave owners still dominated would not ratify the Constitution. The Constitution did; however include the Three-Fifths-Compromise which immediately lessoned the political power of slave holding regions.

A 1794 law forbid American ships from participating in the importation of slaves.

A 1806 law proposed by President Thomas Jefferson, which became effective 1807, forbid the importation slaves by foreign vessels. The Constitution had originally forbade the passing of any such anti slavery laws for 20 years (1808); however, anti slavery efforts had increased to such a degree it saw little resistance in Congress.

What this means is that slaves could only be legally brought into the U.S. via American & foreign ships from 1784-1793 and with foreign ships from 1794-1806. Slaves could only be brought into the U.S. legally for approximately 23 years by any means.

The Act to Protect the Commerce of the United States and Punish the Crime of Piracy, which was passed in 1820, made importing a slave into the U.S. punishable by death!

From 1819 to 1861 the U.S. Navy patrolled the Atlantic coast of Africa in attempt to prevent black Africans from exporting slaves to America. In 42 years 100 suspected slave ships were captured while Africans continued to practice of slavery within Africa and attempted to export slaves outside of Africa.

Individual states issued their own laws which restricted and / or forbid slavery. Vermont declared its independence from England in 1777 and banned slavery while it did not ratify the Constitution and officially become a state until 1791.

Slavery only existed in these states for a limited time:

Alabama 1819-1865

Arkansas 1836-1865

Delaware 1787-1865 (1)

Florida 1845-1865

Georgia 1788-1865 (2)

Kentucky 1792-1865 (3)

Lousiana 1812-1864 (4)

Maryland 1788-1865 (5)

Mississippi 1817-1865

Missouri 1821-1865 (6)

New Jersey 1787-1804

New York 1788-1799

North Carolina 1789-1865

South Carolina 1788-1865

Tennessee 1796-1865 (7)

Texas 1845-1865

Virginia 1788-1865 (8)

(1) Delaware’s anti slavery Quaker movement led slave owners to free 50% of their slaves by 1810 and 90% by 1860. Delaware, with 90% of its slaves already free, voted to remain in the Union in 1861.

(2) Georgia’s James Oglethorpe had banned slavery in 1735, but this was overturned by a 1751 British royal decree.

(3) As slaves never comprised more than 25% of Kentucky’s population anti slavery movements began shortly after its founding. Freed slaves held their own slaves in 29 of Kentucky's counties. Three attempts were made to ban the importation of slaves and one attempt to ban slavery via rewriting the state constitution by 1849 but slave owners were able to prevail over abolitionists.

(4) Louisiana banned slavery in 1864. The slave trade was largely governed by earlier French and Spanish laws which gave slaves some legal rights such as the right to marry. Separation of children from mothers and of married couples was banned as well as the use of severe corporal punishments. The state had a significantly higher portion of free blacks born of white fathers which afforded such children a much higher literacy rate, with a significant number of these free blacks owning businesses, properties and even slaves.

(5) In Maryland many slave owners had freed their slaves shortly after the American Revolution War. From 1810 onward Maryland had the largest population of free blacks of any state. By 1860 over 49% of the state’s population were free blacks. The Underground Railroad was heavily involved in Maryland.

(6) Several early attempts to ban or restrict slavery were put on hold due to the Missouri Compromise which allowed the state to enter the Union as slave state so long as Maine entered the Union as a free state.

(7) Tennessee saw heavy abolitionist activity up until the 1830s, with some anti slavery measures being passed; however, there was not enough support to ban slavery outright, and slave owners were able to gain the upper hand in the state legislature.

(8) By 1650 there were 300 African indentured servants and 4,000 white indentured servants in Virginia. Many were granted 50 acres of land upon earning their freedom by working a given number of years. Slave laws were not passed in Virginia until 1661. Following the American Revolutionary War many slave owners started to free slaves causing the population of free blacks to increase from 1,800 in 1792 to 30,570 in 1810. Efforts to free more slaves were eventually suppressed by the 1840’s era state government. Etcetraetcetra (talk) 14:48, 1 December 2024 (UTC)