The Slave Trade Act of 1794 was a law passed by the United States Congress that prohibited American ships from engaging the international slave trade. It was signed into law by President

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

on March 22, 1794. This was the first of several anti-slavery trade-acts of Congress. In 1800, Congress strengthened it by sharply raising the fines and awarding informants the entire value of any ship seized, as well as additional prohibitions on American investment and employment in the trade. Federal outlawing of importation of slaves to the United States was enacted in 1807. The domestic trade and owning of slaves became illegal in the entire U.S. with 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 Representative ...

in 1865.

Passage

The bill was introduced during the 3rd Congress that happened December 2, 1793. This bill was then passed March 22, 1794, with the title: An Act to prohibit the carrying on the Slave Trade from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

to any foreign place or country.

Text of the law

Section 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That no citizen or citizens of the United States, or foreigner, or any other person coming into, or residing within the same, shall, for himself or any other person whatsoever, either as master, factor or owner, build, fit, equip, load or otherwise prepare any ship or vessel, within any port or place of said United States, nor shall cause any ship or vessel to sail from any port or place within same, for the purpose of carrying on any trade or traffic in slaves, to any foreign country; or for the purpose of procuring, from any foreign kingdom, place or country, the inhabitants of such kingdom, place or country, to be transported to any foreign country, port, or place whatever, to be sold or disposed of, as slaves: And if any ship or vessel shall be so fitted out, as aforesaid, for the said purposes, or shall be caused to sail, so as aforesaid, every ship or vessel, her tackle, furniture, apparel and other appurtenances, shall be forfeited to the United States; and shall be liable to be seized, prosecuted and condemned, in any of the circuit courts or district court for the district where said ship or vessel may be found and seized.

After the modification by the Slave Trade Act of 1800, Section 2 allowed for forfeiture by owners and the possibility of a $2,000 fine. Section 3 affected foreign merchants. Section 4 forfeited any slaves on board the ship and a fine of $200 per slave. In short, the Act limited the international slave trade to foreign ships, and foreign ships using United States' ports had to agree not to export from U.S. ports.

First prosecution

In August 1795,

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...

merchant John Brown conspired to export slaves. Brown conspired with a Captain

Peleg Wood Peleg ( he, פֶּלֶג, Péleḡ, in pausa he, פָּלֶג, Pā́leḡ, "division"; grc-x-biblical, Φάλεκ, Phálek) is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as one of the two sons of Eber, an ancestor of the Ishmaelites and the Israelites, ac ...

with the ship to be used in the slave trade. By November ''Hope'' was engaged in the slave trade, and in March 1796, the owners of the ship were fined by Rhode Island the amount of £200 for trading in slaves, which had been outlawed in that state. On a voyage in 1796, Brown's ship traveled to Africa and returned to

Havana, Cuba Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

with 229 slaves on board. This trading voyage led to a trial of Brown in 1796 for violating the statute. Brown became the first American tried in federal court under the Slave Trade Act of 1794. He was acquitted. However, Brown had previously been forced to forfeit his ship. He did not get it back after his acquittal.Papers of the American Slave Trade.
Retrieved on February 20, 2007.

References

External links

British documents on slave holding and the slave trade, 1788–1793

Dealing African slaves

{{George Washington 1794 in American law Pre-emancipation African-American history Slave trade legislation Presidency of George Washington United States federal slavery legislation 3rd United States Congress

Passage

Text of the law

First prosecution

See also

References

Further reading

External links