The Peonage Abolition Act of 1867 was an Act passed by the U.S. Congress on March 2, 1867, that abolished

peonage Peon (English , from the Spanish ''peón'' ) usually refers to a person subject to peonage: any form of wage labor, financial exploitation, coercive economic practice, or policy in which the victim or a laborer (peon) has little control over em ...

in the

New Mexico Territory The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912. It was created from the U.S. provisional government of New Mexico, as a result of '' Nuevo México'' becomin ...

and elsewhere in the United States. Designed to help enforce the Thirteenth Amendment, the Act declares that holding any person to service or labor under the peonage system is unlawful and forever prohibited. It defines peonage as the "voluntary or involuntary service or labor of any persons . . . in liquidation of any debt or obligation." Violations of the Act were punishable by fines and imprisonment.

Background

Both Indian slavery and

were historically practiced by New Mexico's Hispano population, though they were never legally sanctioned. Peonage was a form of

debt slavery Debt bondage, also known as debt slavery, bonded labour, or peonage, is the pledge of a person's services as security for the repayment for a debt or other obligation. Where the terms of the repayment are not clearly or reasonably stated, the per ...

. Peons were poor Hispano or

Genízaro are detribalized Native Americans who, by war or payment of ransom, were taken into Hispano and Puebloan villages as indentured servants, shepherds, general laborers, etc., in Santa Fe de Nuevo México in New Spain, which is modern New Mexico, ...

workers indebted to wealthy landowners whom they served. Northern abolitionists frequently condemned this system. In the 1850s, New Mexico adopted a pro-slavery position. New Mexico's territorial legislature passed a law restricting the presence of free blacks and established a

slave code The slave codes were laws relating to slavery and enslaved people, specifically regarding the Atlantic slave trade and chattel slavery in the Americas. Most slave codes were concerned with the rights and duties of free people in regards to ensla ...

. Given the minuscule number of people actually affected by those laws, it's likely they were intended to please Southern politicians in exchange for federal investment. Though these laws didn't mention peonage or Indian slavery, wealthy Hispanos hoped they would serve to protect their system as well. After the Thirteenth Amendment was passed, federal officials sought to end peonage. In June 1865, President

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He assumed the presidency as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a De ...

issued a proclamation ordering federal employees to work to discontinue the practice. Later, on January 26, 1867, Senator

Henry Wilson Henry Wilson (born Jeremiah Jones Colbath; February 16, 1812 – November 22, 1875) was an American politician who was the 18th vice president of the United States from 1873 until his death in 1875 and a senator from Massachusetts from 1855 ...

of Massachusetts introduced bill S. 543, which would become the Peonage Act of 1867. It was backed by

Radical Republican The Radical Republicans (later also known as "Stalwarts") were a faction within the Republican Party, originating from the party's founding in 1854, some 6 years before the Civil War, until the Compromise of 1877, which effectively ended Recon ...

s in Congress and by

Stephen Elkins Stephen Benton Elkins (September 26, 1841January 4, 1911) was an American industrialist and politician. He served as the Secretary of War between 1891 and 1893. He served in the United States Congress as a Delegate from the Territory of New Mexi ...

, alleged member of the

Santa Fe Ring The Santa Fe Ring was a group of powerful attorneys and land speculators in the United States during the late 19th century and into the early 20th century. It amassed a fortune through political corruption and fraudulent land deals. Many prominen ...

. It was passed on March 2, 1867 and shortly after signed into law.

Text

AN ACT To abolish and forever prohibit the System of Peonage in the Territory of New Mexico and other Parts of the United States. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the holding of any person to service or labor under the system known as peonage is hereby declared to be unlawful, and the same is hereby abolished and forever prohibited in the Territory of New Mexico, or in any other Territory or State of the United States; and all acts, laws, resolutions, orders, regulations, or usages of the Territory of New Mexico, or of any other Territory or State of the United States, which have heretofore established, maintained, or enforced, or by virtue of which any attempt shall hereafter be made to establish, maintain, or enforce, directly or indirectly, the voluntary or involuntary service or labor of any persons as peons, in liquidation of any debt or obligation, or otherwise, be, and the same are hereby, declared null and void; and any person or persons who shall hold, arrest, or return, or cause to be held, arrested, or returned, or in any manner aid in the arrest or return of any person or persons to a condition of peonage, shall, upon conviction, be punished by fine not less than one thousand nor more than five thousand dollars, or by imprisonment not less than one nor more than five years, or both, at the discretion of the court. Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of all persons in the military or civil service in the Territory of New Mexico to aid in the enforcement of the foregoing section of this act; and any person or persons who shall obstruct or attempt to obstruct, or in any way interfere with, or prevent the enforcement of this act, shall be liable to the pains and penalties hereby provided; and any officer or other person in the military service of the United States who shall so offend, directly or indirectly, shall, on conviction before a court-martial, be dishonorably dismissed the service of the United States, and shall thereafter be ineligible to reappointment to any office of trust, honor, or profit under the government. Approved, March 2, 1867.

References

Sources

United States Statutes at Large, 39th Cong., Sess. II., Chp. 187, p. 546
* Labor rights Unfree labor in the United States Reconstruction Era legislation 1867 in American law March 1867 events History of slavery in New Mexico Slavery of Native Americans 39th United States Congress {{US-hist-stub

Background

Text

See also

References

Sources