In “A Proclamation by the President of the United States,” dated February 18, 1851, President Millard Fillmore and Secretary of State Daniel Webster condemn the escape from federal custody of Shadrach Minkins, a slave from Norfolk who had escaped to Boston, Massachusetts, the previous year.
On July 21, 1656, in “A Report of a Comittee from an Assembly Concerning the freedome of Elizabeth Key,” the General Assembly ruled that the slave Elizabeth Key should be freed.
In this law, “Against ffornication,” passed in its March 1662 session, the General Assembly addressed the problem of indentured servants having sex that produced pregnancies that, in turn, cost masters money and labor.
In this act, “Against Runawayes,” passed by the General Assembly in the session of October 1669, Virginia’s colonial government responds to the problem of runaway indentured servants and slaves.
In this law, “Against Runnaway Servants,” passed in its March 1658 (New Style) session, the General Assembly addressed the problem of indentured servants who ran away, while also making provisions for servants who believed they were being mistreated to seek justice in the courts. Some spelling has been modernized.
In this act, passed on February 25, 1833, the General Assembly creates a legal procedure by which people can be declared neither white, black, nor mulatto, but a “free person of mixed blood.”
In “An act concerning Indians,” passed in October 1665, the General Assembly, among other things, reserves to the governor the right to appoint tribal weroances, or chiefs, for Virginia Indians.
In “An ACT concerning patrols,” passed on January 16, 1801, the General Assembly explicitly empowered local magistrates to send out patrols, making special mention of Petersburg and Fredericksburg. This came in wake of Gabriel’s Conspiracy (1800).
In “An act concerning runaways,” passed by the General Assembly in the session of October 1669–1670, Virginia’s colonial government responds to the problem of indentured servants and slaves who had run away.
In “An act concerning Servants and Slaves,” passed by the General Assembly in the session of October 1705, Virginia’s colonial government collects old and establishes new laws with regards to indentured servants and slaves.
