Tushnet, Mark V. The American Law of Slavery 1810-1860 Considerations of Humanity and Interest, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1981. Print.
Mark Tushnet has conducted a thorough and has presented it in a book The American Law of Slavery 1810-1860 Considerations of Humanity and Interest. This book presents a thorough analysis of different cases where black slaves were involved.
One of the main disadvantages of Mark Tushnet’s writing is that he does not present a strict division of the cases according to their geographical location. Thus, the author dwells upon the court cases involved black slaves in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Georgia. The court cases point at the development of the slavery law in these states.
Trying to distinguish the cases related to the Mississippi state, the following aspects were considered, murders, robberies, assaults, labor law, etc. Even though the source under consideration is poorly structured and the information in many cases is vague, the data presented in the book is important in understanding the law of slavery emergence.
Turning to the analysis of the book and the cases presented there with the purpose to understand the process of the emergence of the law of slavery in Mississippi, it should be stated that this source is rather confusing as the cases presented there and called “illustrative and not typical” (Tushnet 223).
However, the cases do not have the time limits, it is very difficult to understand when the case took place, therefore, the timeline of the accepted laws cannot be followed using this source. Tushnet ignores some important cases pointing to the fact that there is a great “volume of the material” (Tushnet 233). However, these cases are important as they show the general aspects and directions of the law of slavery in Mississippi state.
Conducting a further research and trying to understand what specific information can be considered from the source, the reader should pay attention to the particular cases discussed in the book. The cases are devoted to various situations when black slaves were convicted in committing specific crimes.
One of the main crimes which were committed and discussed in the court trials were the murders, robbery, violence, rapes, attempt to escape and absence of the specific certificates of registration which could give slaves freedom. The author of the book presented the cases where judges were either amateur or very prejudiced people whose decisions were always on the side of white parties. The author calls judges “merely ordinary thinkers” (Tushnet 7) who were unable to make fair decisions.
Even though slaves were on the territory from the day of the community emergence, the slaves had some rights. However, the development of the court system in the region and the appearance of the specific cases where slaves were involved into made the community authorities to reconsider the law. Each time new crime involving a black slave was taken to the court, a new law in the legislative system appeared.
Slaves were one of the categories of people who did not have ay rights. A crime committed by a slave was punished more severely than the same crime committed by a black person. Most of the evidence which was used for defending a black slave was not include din the case, judges just ignored most of the arguments which could protect a slave. The book shows that slaves did not have any rights and the cases discussed in the book and which were used for creating the law for slaves proves this statement.
One more specific aspect devoted to the law of slavery in the book is the labor law. The author dwells upon numerous cases where slaves were either injured or killed in the industrial accidents. It should be stated that such cases were the main reasons for creating the labor legislation where slaves did not have any rights at all. Each case creates some new law in the legislation. Thus, each time Mississippi state created more and more laws devoted to slavery in the region.
Race and class were the main identifiers of the particular decision. The author of the book draws a conclusion that the law of slavery in Mississippi was unprofessional, the court system was not ideal and the general legislature in relation to slaves was prejudiced. Not many resources are devoted to slavery and the book by Tushnet helps understand what specific cases were considered in Mississippi legislation, how cases were solved, whether the court system in the state was ideal and how people reacted to the situation.
White authorities and other white citizens of Mississippi were sure that slaves did not nave any rights and they do not have any opportunity to do anything to remain legally active. The whole legislative system was created during several years and numerous court cases prove it. When a new situation appeared and was taken to the court, a decision was made not in favor of slaves. Further, a new point in the law of slavery appeared.
Finkelman, Paul. Slavery and the Law, New Jersey: Madison House, 1997. Print.
Slavery and the Law is a book edited by Paul Finkelman. This book gathers many specific articles devoted to slavery is different places. Not much information is devoted to Mississippi state, however, that information which is present deserves much attention and may be discussed for a long period of time.
It should be stated that he law of slavery in the mentioned above stated was created since the time of the state emergence, however, some laws were added further on the basis of the specific court cases which took place in the country and which were solved in favor of white people. All the cases where slaves were involved supported whites. There were many reasons for such attitude.
Reading the source under consideration, the following words may be stressed, slaves, “Negroes are an inferior caste, incapable of the blessings of free government, and occupying, in the order of nature, an intermediate state between the irrational animal and the white man” (Finkelman 57).
Calling black slaves the alien enemies, the author of the source wants to underline that slaves did not have any rights. This was the main concept of the law of slavery in Mississippi. Reading the information in the book, it is possible to conclude that the position of the Mississippi slaves was the most severe as they did not have any rights.
There were black people in America who were free, however, the authorities of the Mississippi state were sure that black people did not deserve to be free, they did not deserve to have opinion, and to be equal to white people. Slavery existed in Mississippi from the very inhabitance of the region, therefore, the main laws were crated may years ago.
The racist conception was the main in curt decision making. Moreover, the relation to slaves was not good. A slave was nothing, it was like an animal who did not have the right to speak until he/she is asked, etc.
One of the main reason according to which the law of slavery was created is that if to give freedom to black slaves, people appear at risk to lose their own freedom. Such philosophy was the central in formation of the law of slavery in Mississippi. The implementation of the racist conception may be explained by the history of slaves emergence in the region.
From the first day of the emergence of the Mississippi community, black people were considered as slaves. Even without any laws, black people were subjected to performing the activities they did not want to perform. However, having no choice, black people did what they were told. The racial discrimination was obvious from the first days of the community existence, therefore, all the legal acts and decisions which made further were based on the specific consideration of black slaves as those who have neither rights nor freedoms.
The racial discrimination, and the law of slavery in the form as it was presented, was based on the idea that black slaves were unable to fell and think like white people could. Why do black slaves need freedom if they were unable to use it? Why did black slaves were offered the rights if they did not know what those right could offer to them. Such prejudiced point of view about black people created existed situation.
White people were sure that black slaves were unable to make personal decisions, therefore, they did not consider it necessary to give them such an opportunity. “The free black man lives amongst us without motive and without hope. He seeks no avocation, is surrounded with necessities, is sunk in degradation; crime can sink him no deeper and he commits if of course” (Finkelman 58). This phrased used in the book underlines the author’s idea about slavery and the attitude of the society to it.
Speaking abut this book as about the source devoted to the emergence of a law of slavery in Mississippi, it should be stated that it is rather complicated to find the information which is devoted to the topic directly. Being a good source for slavery, the book contains legal cases which involved slaves as one of the parties of the situation. The authors in this edited book speak about different situation related to slaves and how the courts drew decisions.
The source is not really effective as it contains little information about slavery in Mississippi, however, the emergence of law of slavery in general is perfectly discussed in this book. Applying to this source as for discussing the topic of emergence of law of slavery in Mississippi, it should be used in the introduction to dwell upon slavery in general, to discuss the relation to slaves and the general laws which existed in Southern America.
Davis, Dernoral. “A Contested Presence: Free Blacks in Antebellum Mississippi, 1820–1860.” Mississippi History Now, 2012. Web.
Dernoral Davis in his article “A Contested Presence: Free Blacks in Antebellum Mississippi, 1820–1860” dwells upon the history of development the law of slavery in such specific place as Mississippi. The author states that this territory comprised four groups of people from the time of Mississippi inhabitance. Indians, whites, slaves, and free blacks were the main groups of people who lived in the state.
There was a law according to which black slaves could buy freedom for themselves. Moreover, some slaves could become free if slaveholders freed them. Still, this law lasted not for a long time. Starting with 1825, black slaves were not given such an opportunity, moreover, it was considered as illegal.
Thus, it may be said that starting with 1825 the cases of slaves being freed were too rare. Moreover, those slaves who managed to buy freedom up to 1825 had to appear before the court and to prove their rights for freedom. Each free black person had to have a certificate of registration, otherwise, he/she appeared at risk to be jailed. After that, these people were sold at the auction as slaves. The slavery laws in Mississippi did not give rights for slaves to become free. There was a little number of free black people.
The new free blacks could become only in case a child is born from a free black mother. Black slaves could become free through the petitions for emancipation. Such option became possible with the law dated from 1822. The laws of slavery in Mississippi have remained in power until the 21st century. Mississippi is the hardly the only place where the laws of slavery remained and were successfully used in the civilized world.
Reference List
Davis, Dernoral. “A Contested Presence: Free Blacks in Antebellum Mississippi, 1820–1860.” Mississippi History Now, 2012. Web.
Finkelman, Paul. Slavery and The Law, New Jersey: Madison House, 1997. Print.
Tushnet, Mark V. The American Law of Slavery 1810-1860 Considerations of Humanity and Interest, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1981. Print.