[CHAPTER III]
Legislation on the Question of State Establishment
In order to understand the status of the slave trade and slavery in the United States after their independence was achieved, it is necessary to glance at the progress of the Revolution and the adoption of the new form of government after its close.
In 1774, the contest between the mother country and the English Colonies of North America approached a crisis, and the first Continental Congress of delegates from the thirteen colonies assembled at Philadelphia on the 5th of September of that year. Fifteen articles, as the basis of an "American Association," were adopted and signed on the 20th of October, in which, among other things the slave trade was denounced, and entire abstinence from it and from any trade with those engaged in it, was enjoined. This had been preceded by the Virginia resolution on the same subject more than two months, but the war which ensued put an end to the trade during its continuance, much more effectually than any resolutions or laws could have done.
The "Declaration of Colonial Rights" adopted by this Congress enumerated eleven acts of Parliament as having been passed in derogation of the rights of the colonies since the accession of George III to the throne, to-wit:
1. "The Sugar Act."—This act was a modification of the "Molasses Act," by which the duties on molasses and sugar were lowered and a few unimportant articles were added to the list of those taxed.
2. "The Stamp Act."—This act never had been executed and had been repealed.