Slaves were forbidden to intermarry with free negroes or mulattoes, except by the written permission of the master, attested by two justices of the peace.[53] Marriage of negroes, bond or free, with white persons was prohibited.[54] The white person of such a marriage, and the minister who performed the marriage rite, were fined fifty pounds each.[55]
2. Social and Economic Relations: The slave’s relations with the outside world were carefully guarded because they might lead to runaways, marriages, or insurrections. No free negro or mulatto was permitted to entertain a slave in his home “during the Sabbath, or in the night between sunset and sunrise.”[56] The penalty for violating this act was twenty shillings for the first offense, and forty shillings for each succeeding offense. If the offender could not pay his fine, he was forced to work it out. A free negro or mulatto was prohibited from marrying or cohabiting with a slave unless the master’s consent, attested by two justices, was obtained.[57] The free negro or mulatto, and not the slave, was fined, for violation of this act, ten pounds or one year’s service for the master. No master of a vessel was permitted to entertain a slave on board, who did not hold a pass from his master or a justice of the peace.[58] Such harboring of a slave indicated either an illicit trade relation, or an intention of stealing the slave. For violation of this act, the master of the vessel was fined five pounds for the first, and ten pounds for each succeeding, offense.
Traffic with slaves was a very difficult matter to control. At first, a person trading with a slave was required to pay treble for the article purchased, and six pounds proclamation money.[59] Finally, traffic with slaves was permitted only on the basis of a written permission from the master, describing the article for sale. A person convicted for violation of this law was fined ten pounds, and the slave received not exceeding thirty-nine lashes.[60] If such a person did not have sufficient property to satisfy the fine, he was committed to jail. Traffic with slaves became more difficult to regulate as the slavery system expanded.
The slave was not permitted to engage his services to anyone, nor could the master hire him out. For violation of this regulation, the slave might be taken in charge by a magistrate or free-holder and set to work for the county, for the benefit of the poor, for a period not exceeding twenty days; “any law, usage or custom to the contrary notwithstanding.”[61]
It is noticed that these restrictions pertained primarily to the relations of the slaves with free negroes, Indians, traders, and poor whites, who were as a rule more or less inclined to disturb the order of the plantation. Their association with the whites in the home and at church was a matter of unwritten law. The domestic servants were more intimately associated with the whites and were frequently cultured.[62] There was very little effort on the part of the masters, in the early stages of the development of slavery, to teach or christianize the slaves. Many of them, however, learned to read, and joined churches, but they were not permitted to have separate church organizations.[63]
3. The Runaway: The runaway was one of the most difficult problems of slave government. The wild life of the slave in Africa, and the hardships of frontier American slavery naturally created a disposition in the slave to run away from his master’s plantation. Organized bands of slave-stealers, poor whites, and free negroes constantly took advantage of this attitude of the slave. This was one method by which the slave could, at least temporarily, break the bonds of slavery; and he did not always find life more severe in the camp than on the plantation.
Runaways, aside from the economic loss to the slave-owners involved, might congregate and start an insurrection. Any outside contact made possible conspiracies, and created a real danger to the community. It was, therefore, a heavy fine for anyone to harbor a slave; and it was the duty of all citizens to arrest runaways.[64] The law against the aiding and harboring of runaways was made more severe by increasing the fine for its violation. Finally, to promote the escape of a slave from the colony became a felony and might involve the loss of life.[65]
This law also gave to the justices of the peace the power, by proclamation, to outlaw any runaway who was in hiding, committing injuries to the inhabitants of the community. It was then lawful for any one to kill such a slave.[66] Any runaway who was caught was forced to wear a yoke around his neck until he gave sufficient evidence of good behavior.[67]
Sheriffs and constables were strictly charged with the safe keeping of all runaways who were committed to their care. If they negligently or wilfully permitted any to escape, they were liable for damages to the master at common law with costs.[68] To encourage the police officials to execute the law, they were exempted from the payment of all public, county, and parish levies for their own persons. The keepers of ferries were required to give immediate passage to officers charged with conducting runaways.[69]
No feature of the slave code shows more progressively the attitude of the whites toward the negro than the law on runaways. As the slaves developed the means for evading the law, it was made increasingly rigid. White men could be sold into temporary servitude to pay fines for persuading the slave to run away.[70] Anyone convicted for attempting to steal and convey a slave out of the colony was required to pay the owner twenty-five pounds. If he could not pay this fine he was forced to serve the master for five years.[71] The idea in these laws is not necessarily harshness to the slave, but rather the security of the bondage of the slave.