Kevin:
Thanks for this. It is very helpful and sets out the issue quite well. And of course Kevin is right, the vast majority of free blacks DID NOT come from Virginia. As Kevin suggests, one of the major industries of the state seems to have been exporting human being as commodities to be sold elsewhere, or to be carried elsewhere as master migrated. Either way, the state produced more misery than any other state.
It is also possible that VA had an even great growth in slaves (and thsu exported even more slaves) because it was a much healthier place to live that Mississippi or Louisiana. And growing/processing tobacco, cotton, and wheat was less physically dangerous than rice or sugar.
________________________________
From: "Hardwick, Kevin R - hardwikr" <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Thursday, September 4, 2014 5:41 PM
Subject: Re: [VA-HIST] Help interpreting 18th [or 19th] century will -- very long resoponse
Between 1810 and 1860, the enslaved population of the US increased by a smidge more than a factor of three--from about 1,190,000 to about 3,950,000. Some of that increase was from illegal importation, but most was from natural increase.
In 1810, there were roughly 392,000 slaves living in Virginia; fifty years later, there were roughly 490,000. Had the Virginia enslaved population increased at the same rate as that of the overall enslaved population--a conservative guess, since conditions for enslaved persons were marginally better in Virginia than in places like Mississippi or Louisiana--and had all of the increase stayed in Virginia, there should have been 1,301,000 enslaved persons living in the state in 1860.
Hence, it seems very likely that somewhat in excess of 800,000 enslaved persons left the state.
There were roughly 186,000 free black persons living in the US in 1810, and roughly 488,000 in 1860. Thus, in 1860 there was an increase of about 302,000 free blacks in the US population in the years following 1810. If for sake of argument we assume that 100% of that increase came from slaves manumitted by Virginia masters--a highly dubious assumption, just for the record-that means that at least half a million slaves were "sold south" from the Old Dominion in the half century following the closure of the legal slave trade by Congress in 1808. That represents a minimum of 100,000 enslaved persons PER DECADE were sold out of the state, and likely substantially more than that.
This of course is based on back of the envelope calculations, based on US census data. I am sure that there are more reliable estimates out there, but what I offer above should be more or less in the ballpark.
All best wishes,
Kevin
Sent from my iPad
> On Sep 4, 2014, at 3:27 PM, "Finkelman, Paul" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>
> Lots of slaves being sold outside the state (I do not have good numbers on this) and massive out migration.
>
> The white population only grows by 1,000 from 1830 to 1840. It is 543,627 in 1830 and 544,683 in 1840. In other words, the free black population which is very small, grows faster in absolute numbers (46,729 to 48,621) than the white population and as a per cent the growth of free blacks is massive compared to the whites.
>
> Given the virtual stagnation of the white population for the decade, and the absolute decline in slave population the only answer that makes sense is large out-migration, with some slaveowners taking their slaves with them, and at the same time, substantial slave of slaves to the south and southwest.
>
> The last three years of the decade (1837-40) are during the greatest depression in US history up to that time and the 3rd or 4th worst depression/recession in US history. It seems likely that a considerable number of Virginians moved out and that even more of them sold their slaves to raise money.
>
> Free blacks on the other hand had few places to go (except to NY, PA, NJ, or New England, or into Ohio (where they faced some -- mostly unenforced -- barriers to migration). So my guess is that the was less free black out-migration than white out-migration or the sale or forced migration of slaves.
>
> *************************************************
> Paul Finkelman
> Senior Fellow
> Penn Program on Democracy, Citizenship, and Constitutionalism
> University of Pennsylvania
> and
> Scholar-in-Residence The National Constitution Center Philadelphia, PA
>
> 518-439-7296 (p)
> 518-605-0296 (c)
>
> [log in to unmask]
> www.paulfinkelman.com
> *************************************************
>
>
> ________________________________________
> From: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of Kevin Gutzman [[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Thursday, September 04, 2014 2:22 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [VA-HIST] Help interpreting 18th [or 19th] century will -- very long resoponse
>
> Dear Paul,
>
> How do you account for the decline in total black population between the 1830 and 1840 counts?
>
> Kevin
>
>
> Kevin R. C. Gutzman, J.D., Ph.D.
> Professor and Graduate Coordinator
> Department of History
> Western Connecticut State University
> Author, James Madison and the Making of America (cloth: St. Martin's Press, 2012; paper: St. Martin's Griffin, 2013);
> Who Killed the Constitution? (with Thomas E. Woods, Jr.) (cloth: Crown Forum, 2008; paper: 2009);
> Virginia's American Revolution (Lexington Books, 2007);
> The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Constitution (Regnery Publishing, 2007).
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Finkelman, Paul
> Sent: Thursday, September 04, 2014 1:49 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [VA-HIST] Help interpreting 18th [or 19th] century will -- very long resoponse
>
> Dear Ms. Goldberg:
>
> Let's start here. It was UNCOMMON for southern whites to ever free their slaves -- except perhaps in Maryland and Delaware. In 1790 there were about 8,800 slaves in Delaware and 3,400 free blacks; by 1860 there were only 1,800 slaves and about 19,900 free blacks. Maryland had 103,000 slaves in 1790 and 8.000 free blacks and in 1860 there were 87,200 slaves and about 84,000 free blacks. So in both states you have substantial manumissions over the 70 year period -- more so in Del. than anywhere else.
>
> Now lets look at Virginia.
>
> First the law. In 1782 Virginia allowed masters to free slaves and allowed those free blacks to stay in the state (there were exceptions for very old and very young slaves and some other requirements, but basically masters were able to free slaves if they wanted). This law was on the books until 1805. This led to a significant growth in the free black population, which *as a percentage of the population* grew faster than the slave population or the white population from 1780 to 1810.
>
> There were an estimated 2,000 free blacks in the state in 1780 (we don't have a good census figure). In 1790 there were 12,250 free black and by 1810 (5 years after the law had been repealed) there were about 30,250 free blacks in the state. This is a huge percentage growth. But, the slave population in this period went from 288,000 in 1790 to 384,000 in 1810 -- a substantial growth. MOST masters are NOT freeing slaves; only a few are.
>
> From 1806 until 1852 Virginia had a number of different laws on private manumission (I can send you cites if you want), that allowed some masters to free their slaves. But most did not. The numbers bear this out.
>
> Year Free blacks Slaves
>
> 1820 37,000 412,000
> 1830 47,000 454,000
> 1840 49,000 432,000
> 1850 51,250 452,000
> 1860 55,250 473,000
>
> In 1852 Virginia completely prohibited newly freed black from staying in the state.
>
> The slave figures show relatively little grown over the century because over a hundred thousand (100,000) Virginia slaves were sold South in the 19th century [someone may have a good number for that, I do not have one handy].
>
> So, rather than free slaves, huge numbers of white Virginians were selling their slaves South. Being sold meant being cut off -- usually Forever -- from family and friends.
>
> So, the answer to your big question is a resounding NO. Most Virginians did not free their slaves. We have few examples of those that did. I have written about some of them in Paul Finkelman, SLAVERY AND THE FOUNDERS: RACE AND LIBERTY IN THE AGE OF JEFFERSON (3rd edition, M.E. Sharpe, 2014). Famous ones include Robert Carter, III -- Better known as Robert "Councillor" Carter, George Washington (in his will), John and Robert Pleasants, and John Randolph of Roanoke who freed his slaves (over 300) in his will and had them transported to Ohio. Robert Coles, who was Madison's private secretary, took his 20-30 slaves to Illinois and freed them there because the VA law did not allow in-state manumission.
>
> Your slaveowner was unusual simply because he freed his slaves. Bravo to him. And generous in that he provided money to transport them -- but that was necessary since in 1818 they could not have stayed in VA, although in 1819 a law would have allowed the slaves or the executor of the will to petition the county court for the right to stay in the state.
>
> Between 1805 and 1819 there were private manumissions and it seems likely that some former slaves were allowed to stay in the state despite the repeal of the 1805 law.
>
> I hope this helps.
>
> Feel free to contact me off list if you need more information.
>
>
> *************************************************
> Paul Finkelman
> Senior Fellow
> Penn Program on Democracy, Citizenship, and Constitutionalism University of Pennsylvania
> and Scholar-in-Residence The National Constitution Center Philadelphia, PA
>
>
> 518-439-7296 (p)
> 518-605-0296 (c)
>
> [log in to unmask]
> www.paulfinkelman.com
> *************************************************
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history On Behalf Of Rita Goldberg
> Sent: Wednesday, 03 September, 2014 5:45 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: [VA-HIST] Help interpreting 18th century will
>
> This is a request for help understanding two aspects of a will that was filed in Richmond in 1818.
>
> 1. The gentleman in question frees several slaves and allows them to stay in the homes where they were living until these homes are sold as part of his estate. He also provides for a yearly amount ranging from $40-$150 to be paid to each of these individuals. In addition, he provides assistance if, because of the law, these freed slaves were not allowed to live in Virginia.
> My question is: Was it normal at the time for slave owners to free some or all of their slaves when they died? Are the provisions in the will normal or do they seem especially generous?
>
> 2. The gentleman leaves amounts ranging from $2000 to $8000 to a series of women, most of them married but some not. Since several of these woman were well known in Richmond society, it's hard to imagine that they had all been lovers of the gentleman and that he would speak of them so openly in his will. Does anything you know about Richmond society of the time provide a clue as to the significance of these generous clauses?
>
> I'd be very appreciative of any ideas that could help explain these two points in the 1818 will.
>
> Rita Goldberg
>
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