Early Republic

New Jersey Gradual Abolition of Slavery Act

1804
New Jersey
Date
1804
Location
New Jersey
Type
legislation

What happened

The New Jersey legislature passed an act for the gradual abolition of slavery in 1804, providing that no person born after that date would be a slave.

When this happened

New Jersey Gradual Abolition of Slavery Act occurred in 1804, during the early republic period of American history.

Where this happened

New Jersey Gradual Abolition of Slavery Act took place in New Jersey. Explore the full history of New Jersey and primary source records from this era.

Historical context — Early Republic

The early republic period saw the United States move from the weak Articles of Confederation to the federal Constitution ratified in 1788, with the Bill of Rights added in 1791. George Washington served two terms as president (1789–1797), establishing precedents for executive authority, and the federal capital moved permanently to Washington D.C. in 1800. The Louisiana Purchase (1803) doubled the nation's territory for roughly $15 million, opening vast trans-Mississippi lands to American expansion. The War of 1812 against Britain ended inconclusively but produced a surge of American national identity and eliminated most British support for Indigenous resistance east of the Mississippi. The Northwest Indian Wars (1785–1795) and the Creek War (1813–1814) broke Indigenous confederacies that had resisted US expansion. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 temporarily balanced slave and free states as the nation expanded westward, but embedded the contradiction of slavery in every subsequent territorial debate.

Source

Content adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Source: Wikipedia: War and slavery.

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About New Jersey Gradual Abolition of Slavery Act

What was New Jersey Gradual Abolition of Slavery Act?
The New Jersey legislature passed an act for the gradual abolition of slavery in 1804, providing that no person born after that date would be a slave.
When did New Jersey Gradual Abolition of Slavery Act happen?
New Jersey Gradual Abolition of Slavery Act occurred in 1804.
Where did New Jersey Gradual Abolition of Slavery Act take place?
New Jersey Gradual Abolition of Slavery Act took place in New Jersey.

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