Racial Laws Quotes
Racial intermarriage was quite common in Colonial America. Virginia passed this law—the first of many in Virginia to try and eliminate miscegenation—which they never did.
This was passed after the Civil War had ended---during Reconstruction. Many states had similar laws until the Supreme Court challenges to them in the latter half of the 20th century.
Miscegenation was very common between Blacks and whites throughout American history. Even though it was a taboo subject in “polite society” white women marrying or cohabiting with Negro men was so common in Colonial America that the State of Maryland had to pass a law making the children slaves to further discourage the white women. This violated the long held tradition that the slave status of children followed the status of the mothers. The law backfired as Maryland colonists encouraged their white female indentured servants to interbreed with Black slaves so that the children would also become their property as slaves as even slave children were very valuable. The law was then repealed after only 20 years.
There was a fear of free Blacks gambling which did not extend to whites as there was much gambling at the time.
Brigham Young, the Mormon Leader and Territorial Governor, was strongly opposed to Interracial sex. See {629150}. An earlier clause provided for loss of the rights to a slave if the master had sexual relations with the slave, something that no Southern State had ever done.
This was the Illinois solution to the problem caused by the Fugitive Slave Act. Pennsylvania and other States had experienced pitched battles over slave owners or their agents trying to forcibly remove blacks. Illinois could claim to the slave catchers that there were no runaway slaves in the State as a result of their law. As anti Black as the second part seems to indicate, there was a catch. The Blacks could enter Illinois and stay for 10 days—enough time to rest and obtain nourishment and then be on their way to Canada. It turned out that the law offended everyone as often happens when compromise is attempted on fundamental principles like slavery and racism.
Many Quakers saw Negroes as brothers and invited them to worship. Even some who owned slaved allowed them to attend their Quaker religious services. As such, they were a model of Christianity at a time when most other churches were not as advanced. The majority of the slave owners saw a great threat in Christianizing the Black slaves and hence they passed this law.
