Gradual emancipation was a legal mechanism used by some U.S. states to abolish slavery over some time, such as

An Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery An Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery, passed by the Fifth Pennsylvania General Assembly on 1 March 1780, prescribed an end for slavery in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in the United States. It was the first slavery abolition act in the c ...

of 1780 in Pennsylvania.

History

In the 16th century,

Bartolomé de las Casas Bartolomé de las Casas, Dominican Order, OP ( ; ); 11 November 1484 – 18 July 1566) was a Spanish clergyman, writer, and activist best known for his work as an historian and social reformer. He arrived in Hispaniola as a layman, then became ...

advocated ending enslavement. He stated that it was immoral, but there was pressure economically and politically to maintain slavery. Some of those who advocated for change wanted to end the

transatlantic slave trade The Atlantic slave trade or transatlantic slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of Slavery in Africa, enslaved African people to the Americas. European slave ships regularly used the triangular trade route and its Middle Pass ...

, because of how torturous it was, but still supported slavery. Others wanted to end slavery entirely. Abolition of slavery in the United States SVG map

Abolition of slavery in the United States SVG map

The

Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment (also the Age of Reason and the Enlightenment) was a Europe, European Intellect, intellectual and Philosophy, philosophical movement active from the late 17th to early 19th century. Chiefly valuing knowledge gained th ...

of the late 17th century influenced increasing support for emancipation in the 18th century. In the 1770s, Black people throughout

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

began sending petitions to northern

legislatures A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers ...

demanding freedom. Pennsylvania's

of 1780 was the first legislative enactment in the United States. It specified that Once the Pennsylvania residents were freed, they were supposed to be treated the same as

indentured servants Indentured servitude is a form of labor in which a person is contracted to work without salary for a specific number of years. The contract called an "indenture", may be entered voluntarily for a prepaid lump sum, as payment for some good or ser ...

who were contracted for four years of service. For instance, they were to receive tools of their trade or other privileges. Four other Northern states adopted policies to at least gradually abolish slavery:

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

and

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

in 1783, and

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

and

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

in 1784. The Republic of Vermont had already limited slavery in its original constitution (1777), before it joined the United States as the 14th state in 1791. These state jurisdictions thus enacted the first abolition laws in the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

. By 1808, the importation of enslaved people was prohibited (though smuggling continued), and by the 1820s all Northern states enacted laws for either gradual or immediate emancipation. By 1860, U.S. Census data showed that almost all Northern states had no slaves except for New Jersey which had enacted such gradual emancipation that there were still 18 slaves enumerated by the census. Starting in the early 19th century, the concept of gradual abolition spread from the US to

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

, where it became known as

Freedom of wombs Free womb laws (, ), also referred to as free birth or the law of wombs, was a 19th century judicial concept in several Latin American countries, that declared that all wombs bore free children. All children are born free, even if the mother is en ...

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

proposed an amendment to the Constitution for gradual emancipation in 1861 and 1862, culminating with the Second Message to Congress in December 1862. However, he realized that immediate emancipation was what was needed, because there was increasing support for emancipation in the north and slaves helped the Confederates during the war. This led to the

Emancipation Proclamation The Emancipation Proclamation, officially Proclamation 95, was a presidential proclamation and executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War. The Proclamation had the eff ...

, which went into effect on January 1, 1863. The

Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution The Thirteenth Amendment (Amendment XIII) to the United States Constitution abolished Slavery in the United States, slavery and involuntary servitude, except Penal labor in the United States, as punishment for a crime. The amendment was passed ...

was ratified at the end of the war, making slavery illegal in every state, and all enslaved people were freed.

References

{{Authority control Abolitionism in the United States Pre-emancipation African-American history African-American documents Legal history of the United States United States slavery law

History

See also

References