Laws and Legislation • 180 Records • Uploaded July 18, 2023
This source compiles many of the laws that affected enslaved Americans and free Black people in Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia between 1642 and 1860. Included are colonial and state-level laws, as well as proposed legislation, that refer to the rights or restrictions of African American people on the Delmarva Peninsula. Two existing sources contributed to the compilation in significant ways: Black Laws of Virginia by June Purcell Guild (1936) and the Maryland State Archive's Legacy of Slavery in Maryland project. In most cases, the full text of the law is included (and linked to when possible).
The list below shows the data fields included in this source. If a field is marked as Indexed, it is searchable.