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A Political Manual for 1866
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Historical SummaryThese laws respecting the freedmen, commonly called the "vagrant" laws, were passed by the legislatures of southern states reconstructed under Johnson’s proclamation of May 29, 1865. The legislatures were controlled by those recently in arms against the Union; and this legislation was one of the main causes of the passage of the fourteenth amendment.—Bibliography as in No. 145 above.
CHAPTER XXV—PROCESS OF RECONSTRUCTION
Legislation on the Freedmen (1865–1866)
BY SOUTHERN LEGISLATURES
C.
SEC. 12 provides that it shall not be lawful for any negro, mulatto, or other person of color, to own, use, or keep in his possession or under his control any bowie-knife, dirk, sword, fire-arms, or ammunition of any kind, unless he first obtain a license to do so from the judge of probate of the county in which he may be a resident for the time being; and the said judge of probate is hereby authorized to issue license, upon the recommendation of two respectable citizens of the county, certifying to the peaceful and orderly character of the applicant; and any negro, mulatto, or other person of color, so offending, shall be deemed to be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall forfeit to the use of the informer all such fire-arms and ammunition, and in addition thereto, shall be sentenced to stand in the pillory for one hour, or be whipped, not exceeding thirty-nine stripes, or both, at the discretion of the jury.
SEC. 14 provides that if any negro, mulatto, or other person of color, shall intrude himself into any religious or other public assembly of white persons, or into any railroad car or other public vehicle set apart for the exclusive accommodation of white people, he shall be deemed to be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be sentenced to stand in the pillory for one hour, or be whipped, not exceeding thirty-nine stripes, or both, at the discretion of the jury; nor shall it be lawful for any white person to intrude himself into any religious or other public assembly of colored persons, or into any railroad car or other public vehicle, set apart for the exclusive accommodation of persons of color, under the same penalties.
Edward McPherson, (Washington, 1866), 30–40 passim.
Contents:
Chicago:
Southern Legislatures, "Legislation on the Freedmen (1865– 1866)," A Political Manual for 1866, ed. Edward McPherson in American History Told by Contemporaries, ed. Albert Bushnell Hart (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1903), Original Sources, accessed July 12, 2025, http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=WTELJZUKPKA212M.
MLA:
Southern Legislatures. "Legislation on the Freedmen (1865– 1866)." A Political Manual for 1866, edited by Edward McPherson, in American History Told by Contemporaries, edited by Albert Bushnell Hart, Vol. 4, New York, The Macmillan Company, 1903, Original Sources. 12 Jul. 2025. http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=WTELJZUKPKA212M.
Harvard:
Southern Legislatures, 'Legislation on the Freedmen (1865– 1866)' in A Political Manual for 1866, ed. . cited in 1903, American History Told by Contemporaries, ed. , The Macmillan Company, New York. Original Sources, retrieved 12 July 2025, from http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=WTELJZUKPKA212M.
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