The Negro Act of 1740 was passed in the

Province of South Carolina Province of South Carolina, originally known as Clarendon Province, was a province of Great Britain that existed in North America from 1712 to 1776. It was one of the five Southern colonies and one of the thirteen American colonies. The monar ...

, during colonial Governor William Bull's time in office, in response to the

Stono Rebellion The Stono Rebellion (also known as Cato's Conspiracy or Cato's Rebellion) was a slave revolt that began on 9 September 1739, in the colony of South Carolina. It was the largest slave rebellion in the Southern Colonies, with 25 colonists and 35 t ...

in 1739. The comprehensive act made it illegal for

enslaved Africans The Atlantic slave trade, transatlantic slave trade, or Euro-American slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of enslaved African people, mainly to the Americas. The slave trade regularly used the triangular trade route and i ...

to move abroad, assemble in groups, raise food, earn

money Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are as ...

, and learn to write (though reading was not proscribed). Additionally, owners were permitted to

kill Kill often refers to: *Homicide, one human killing another *cause death, to kill a living organism, to cause its death Kill may also refer to: Media *'' Kill!'', a 1968 film directed by Kihachi Okamoto * ''Kill'' (Cannibal Corpse album), 2006 * ...

rebellious slaves if necessary. The Act remained in effect until 1865.

John Belton O'Neall John Belton O'Neall (1793–1863) was an American judge who served on the precursor to the South Carolina Supreme Court. He is remembered for writing the digest ''The Negro Law of South Carolina''. Biography and legal career O'Neall graduated ...

summarized the 1740 South Carolina law, in his 1848 written work, ''

The Negro Law of South Carolina The ''Negro Law of South Carolina'' (1848) was one of John Belton O'Neall's longer works. Summary and immediate reception In 1848, the author read the ''Negro Law of South Carolina'' to the State Agricultural Society of South Carolina, at thei ...

'', when he stated: "A

slave Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

may, by the consent of his master, acquire and hold personal property. All, thus required, is regarded in law as that of the master." Across the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

, state supreme courts supported the position of this law. O'Neall was the only one to express protest against the Act, arguing for the propriety of receiving testimony from enslaved Africans (many of whom had become

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

) under oath: "

Negroes In the English language, ''negro'' is a term historically used to denote persons considered to be of Black African heritage. The word ''negro'' means the color black in both Spanish and in Portuguese, where English took it from. The term can be ...

(slave or free) will feel the sanctions of an oath, with as much force as any of the ignorant classes of

white people White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European origin, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, and point of view. Description of populations as ...

, in a Christian country."

References

External links

"An Act for the Better Ordering and Governing of Negroes and Other Slaves in this Province" or Slave Code of South Carolina, May 1740
full transcription of original text
"An Act for the Better Ordering and Governing of Negroes and Other Slaves in this Province" or Slave Code of South Carolina, May 1740
Scan of original handwritten document United States slavery law Legal history of South Carolina 1740 in law 1740 in South Carolina African-American history of South Carolina {{US-law-stub