Petition to Free Slaves, 1815 | History of SC Slide Collection

The legislature of South Carolina retained a great deal of authority over many aspects of everyday life. Roads could not be built, ferries across rivers could not be established, slaves could not be freed without the consent of the legislature. Lenora G. Montgomery petitioned the legislature in December of 1815 for permission to free two slave women and their children, whom she names, because it was "the dying wish" of her husband. The legislature refused her petition.

Courtesy of the South Carolina Department of Archives and History.

Standards

• This indicator was designed to encourage inquiry into the continuities and changes of the experiences of marginalized groups such as African Americans, Native Americans and women, as the U.S. expanded westward and grappled with the development of new states.
  • This indicator was developed to encourage inquiry into the debates, heightened by Westward Expansion, over federal and state power concerning slavery, and the government’s role in protecting and securing natural rights.