Global InformationHistory of slavery in Vermont information
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| History of slavery in Vermont | |
|---|---|
| 1777–1791 | |
 Constitution House, Windsor, Vermont, where the Constitution of the Vermont Republic was signed in 1777 | |
| Location | Vermont Republic State of Vermont |
| Key events | Adoption of Constitution of Vermont (1777) Admission of Vermont to the Union (1791) |
Vermont was amongst the first places to abolish slavery by constitutional dictum.[1] Although estimates place the number of slaves at 25 in 1770,[2][3] slavery was banned outright[4] upon the founding of Vermont in July 1777, and by a further provision in its Constitution, existing male slaves became free at the age of 21 and females at the age of 18.[5] Not only did Vermont's legislature agree to abolish slavery entirely, it also moved to provide full voting rights for African-American males. According to the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture, "Vermont's July 1777 declaration was not entirely altruistic either. While it did set an independent tone from the 13 colonies, the declaration's wording was vague enough to let Vermont's already-established slavery practices continue."
Chapter I of the Constitution, titled "A Declaration of the Rights of the Inhabitants of the State of Vermont" said:
no male person, born in this country, or brought from over sea, ought to be holden by law, to serve any person, as a servant, slave or apprentice, after he arrives to the age of twenty-one Years, nor female, in like manner, after she arrives to the age of eighteen years, unless they are bound by their own consent, after they arrive to such age, or bound by law, for the payment of debts, damages, fines, costs, or the like.[6]
The state of Vermont was created in 1777 by settlers who had purchased their land from the colonial governor of New Hampshire and resisted subsequent attempts by New York's colonial government to exert jurisdiction over the area, called the New Hampshire Grants. These settlers, who named the former New Hampshire Grants "Vermont", wished to create a popular government representing their interests, among them abolishing slavery. After 1777, Vermont was repeatedly denied admission to the Union as New York and New Hampshire continued to debate jurisdiction, and it existed as the independent Vermont Republic until March 1791, after jurisdictional disputes were resolved by a compromise signed in October 1790. After Vermont was admitted as the fourteenth state in 1791, it became subject to the Fugitive Slave Clause of the Constitution of the United States (Article IV, Section 2, Clause 3) requiring fugitive slaves fleeing into a state whose laws forbid slavery to be returned. Later the state was subject to the Fugitive Slave Acts of 1793 and 1850, allowing slave owners to recover fugitive slaves who fled to Vermont.
Harvey Amani Whitfield's book, The Problem of Slavery in Early Vermont, reports that among those violating the abolition of slavery were Vermont Supreme Court Judge Stephen Jacob and Levi Allen, brother of the military leader Ethan Allen.[7]
In 1858 the "Freedom Act" was ratified, declaring that any slave who reached Vermont was automatically freed.[8]
- ^ Wood, Peter (2020). "13". 1620: A Critical Response to the 1619 Project. New York, NY: Encounter Books. p. 202. ISBN 9781641771252. LCCN 2020032267.
- ^ "Chapter Z. Colonial and Pre-Federal Statistics" (PDF). Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970. House document - 93d Congress, 1st session ; no. 93-78. Vol. 2 (Bicentennial ed.). Washington, D.C.: United States Census Bureau. 1975. p. 1168. hdl:2027/uiug.30112104053555. LCCN 75038832. 003-024-00120-9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-02-18.
- ^ Berlin, Ira (1998). "Tables, Abbreviations, Notes, Acknowledgements, Index". Many Thousands Gone: The First Two Centuries of Slavery in North America. Cambridge, Massachusetts and London: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. p. 369. hdl:2027/heb.00069. ISBN 9780674810921. LCCN 98019336. OCLC 55720074.
- ^ "Vermont 1777: Early Steps Against Slavery". Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
- ^ "Vermont and the abolition of slavery". Anti-slaverysociety.addr.com. Retrieved 2015-10-14.
- ^ "Slavery in Vermont". Retrieved 16 August 2015.
- ^ Kelley, Kevin J. (January 15, 2014). "UVM Slavery Study Challenges Vermont's Abolitionist Rep". Vermont Seven Days. Burlington, VT.
- ^ Hall, Kermit L. (2000). Freedom Act of 1858. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9780815334309. Retrieved 19 July 2019.