The laws regarding education in Virginia did change markedly over time.
Beginning in 1631, statutes encouraged educating the poor without regard to
color. The most sweeping was an act, passed in 1796, "to establish public
schools" for the good of the republic. It "enacted that certain aldermen
shall consider the expediency of establishing schools and at every one of
these schools there shall be taught reading, writing and common arithmetic,
and all the free children, male and female, shall be entitled to receive
tuition gratis for the term of three years." (See Guild, reprint ed., p.
174)

In 1805, legislators began constricting educational opportunities for black
children, first by declaring "that it shall not be lawful for the overseers
of the poor who may hereafter bind out any black or mulatto orphan to
require the master to teach such an orphan reading, writing or arithmetic."
In 1811 each county was directed to establish "a school or schools for the
education of the poor," but in 1818 local control was granted to determine
how many and which children they shall educate. In 1829 a statute
established that public schools were for "free white" children. (pp.
174/175)

Thus the 1831 statute in the message below was the first to explicitly ban
educating free blacks, but it was passed in April, and Nat Turner's
insurrection did not occur until August 22, 1831. From this perspective, it
seems that attitudes and laws affecting African Americans were changing for
the worse even before Nat Turner. But keep in mind that these statutes only
concern education--many others restricted the rights and freedom of slaves
and free people of color, some prior to 1800. Significant examples include
the establishment of a free Negro registry and certification program in
1793 and, the same year, an act forbidding "free Negroes or mulattoes from
migrating into the Commonwealth."  (p. 95) In this light, the difference
was less a change than an intensification of persecution.

The legislative reaction to Turner's insurrection worsened conditions for
people of color. In March of 1832 the Virginia legislature passed a rather
convoluted  "act reducing into one the several acts concerning slaves, free
Negroes, and mulattoes." It does not mention education in reading and
writing but prohibited religious meetings conducted by slave or free black
preachers. It allowed masters to have "slaves, employed or bound, and free
Negroes to go with them to religious worship conducted by a white minister"
and permitted religious instruction only "in the day time by a licensed
white minister to slaves and free Negroes." It prohibited free Negroes from
purchasing slaves except for husbands, wives, and children; and from
carrying firearms except with the permission of a justice. Furthermore, it
forbade slaves and free Negroes from selling or giving away liquor near
public assemblies; and from writing, publishing, or publicly speaking
anything deemed sedititious. (p. 106-7)

Deborah Lee
Doctoral Candidate, Cultural Studies
George Mason University
Fairfax, Virginia 22030-4444


>Would there be  a distinct difference in those  laws affecting the
>education of Negroes  before 1831 and those laws beginning in 1831 and
>later?  I am thinking of the Nathaniel Turner massacre in Southampton VA
>was in 1831, which event contributed to changed attitudes and laws
>affecting the black people.
>
>Loretta
>  ----- Original Message -----
>  From: Deborah A. Lee
>  To: [log in to unmask]
>  Sent: Tuesday, July 31, 2001 8:47 AM
>  Subject: Re: Teaching Slaves To Read
>
>
>  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 <[log in to unmask]>:
>
>  "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
>
>  >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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