Concept thread · Liberty

the prohibition of slavery

The barring of slavery and involuntary servitude (save as punishment for crime) within a jurisdiction, here imposed on the Northwest Territory.

The thread

1. 1787 · enacts
   Article 6 bars slavery and involuntary servitude in the territory, the first federal statute to prohibit it on new soil.
   Northwest Ordinance →
2. 1787 · limits
   The fugitive-recovery proviso narrows the slavery ban, allowing escapees from the original States to be reclaimed despite the prohibition.
   Northwest Ordinance →

Related threads

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• the law of the landargued together
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