Below are some items from a previous discussion of this subject on VA-HIST
that I retrieved from the on-line archives.
Gregg Kimball
_________________
Here are some statutes regarding teaching slaves to read from June Purcell
Guild, _Black Laws of Virginia_, originally published in 1936 and reprinted
in 1995 and 1996 by the Afro-American Historical Society of Fauquier County,
Virginia:
"1831. Chapter XXXIX. All meetings of free Negroes or mulattoes at any
school house, church, meeting house or other place for teaching them reading
or writing, either in the day or the night shall be considered an unlawful
assembly. Warrants shall direct any sworn officer to enter and disperse such
Negroes and inflict corporal punishment on the offenders at the discretion
of the justice, not exceeding twenty lashes. Any white person assembling to
instruct free Negroes to read or write shall be fined not over $50.00, also
be imprisoned not exceeding two months.
"It is further enacted that if any white person for pay shall assemble with
any slaves for the purpose of teaching them to read or write, he shall for
each offense be fined, at the discretion of the justice, $10.00-$100.00."
(p. 176)
"1848. [Chapter X.] Section 39. Every assemblage of slaves or free Negroes
for religious worship, conducted by a slave or free Negro, and every such
assemblage for the purpose of instruction in reading or writing by
whomsoever conducted, and every such assemblage in the night time under
whatsoever pretext shall be unlawful, and the punishment of any slave or
free Negro not exceeding thirty-nine lashes." (p. 167)
The Criminal Code, Chapter 120, of 1848 reiterated the above and further
established that "Any white person assembling with slaves or free Negroes
for purpose of instructing them to read or write, or associating with them
in any unlawful assembly, shall be confined in jail not exceeding six months
and fined not exceeding $100.00. Any such white person may be required to
enter a recognizance with sufficient security to appear for trial, and in
the meantime to keep the peace and be of good behavior." (p. 179)
Deborah A. Lee
Doctoral Candidate, Cultural Studies
George Mason University
Fairfax, Virginia 22030-4444
______________________________________
I think my original reply was a bit unclear. As I said, slave instruction
was "legally limited," not prohibited. The laws (as explained by Cornelius)
were primarily aimed at third parties (or other free blacks and slaves)
teaching slaves, especially in groups. (Of course there were also laws
limiting assemblies of slaves.) As I said below, I think that individual
masters could, and in some cases did, educate their slaves. We also
shouldn't forget laws that pertained to specific cities and counties, such
as "The Charters and Ordinances of the City of Richmond" (Ellyson's Steam
Press, 1859), which lists ordinances limiting free blacks and slaves in a
multitude of ways.
Gregg
-----Original Message----- From: James Hershman
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Friday, July 27, 2001 2:19 PM To:
[log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Teaching Slaves To Read
I'm not sure there was a statutory prohibition, or if there was Margaret
Mercer was certainly breaking it when she taught her slaves to read in her
little school at Belmont plantation in Loudoun County. I don't think some of
the locals liked it but she wasn't prosecuted.
Jim Hershman
Gregg Kimball wrote:
> Have you checked Janet Duitsman Cornelius's book "When I Can Read My Title
> Clear: Literacy, Slavery, and Religion in the Antebellum South"? I believe
> that this book outlines the law in various states. As I remember >
Cornelius's discussion of this matter, Virginia was one of four southern >
states that legally limited the instruction of slaves from the 1830s to >
1865. The state criminalized assemblies for teaching slaves and teaching >
slaves for pay. The legislature seems to have left the door open for >
individual masters to educate their own slaves. I think it's also important
> to realize that in some cases community pressure and other laws could be >
used against schools. Free black Christopher McPherson's night school in >
Richmond was quashed due to a public outcry that led to him being hauled >
into court for operating a public "nuisance." > > Gregg Kimball
-----Original Message----- > From: [log in to unmask]
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] > Sent: Thursday, July 26, 2001 11:43 PM > To:
[log in to unmask] > Subject: Teaching Slaves To Read > > A colleague
asked me recently when it was that Virginia, either the colony > or > the
Commonwealth, made it "a formal policy to prevent teaching slaves to >
read." I had thought such a statute was passed in the early 1830s, but I >
find no evidence to support my impression. I looked in studies of Virginia >
law and slavery, but did not find an answer to my question. Of course, the >
statute prescribed punishment for those who taught the slaves; therefore, >
it might not have been a part of the slave code at all. > > I hope someone
can help. Thanks. > > James R. Sweeney > Department of History > Old
Dominion University > Norfolk, VA 23529
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