Gradual emancipation was a legal mechanism used by some states to abolish slavery over a period of 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 Pennsylvania. It was the first act abolishing slavery in the course of human history to be adopted by a ...

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 16th-century Spanish Empire, Spanish landowner, friar, priest, and bishop, famed as a historian and social reformer. He arrived in Hispaniola as a layman ...

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, because of how tortuous 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 or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...

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 comprising 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 to the west and by the Canadian province ...

began sending petitions to northern legislatures 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 Work (human activity), 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 purported eventual compensa ...

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

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

and

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

in 1783, and

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

and

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but i ...

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. 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.

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

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 Civil War. The Proclamation changed the legal sta ...

, which was formalized on January 1, 1863. The

Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution The Thirteenth Amendment (Amendment XIII) to the United States Constitution abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. The amendment was passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, by the House of Representati ...

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