Letter to James H. Reid regarding the enslavement of a group of African Americans

Location of collection:

George Mason University

2400 Fenwick Library

Special Collections Research Center

Fenwick Library MS2FL

George Mason University

Fairfax, VA 22030

Contact for questions and access:

POC: Mieko Palazzo

Email: speccoll@gmu.edu

Phone: (703) 993-2220

Fax: (703) 993-2669

Web: scrc.gmu.edu

Restrictions:

There are no access restrictions.

Terms of access:

No known copyright. The Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries believes that this collection is not restricted by copyright or related rights, but a conclusive determination could not be made. (See https://rightsstatements.org/page/NKC/1.0/?language=en)

Preferred citation:

Letter to James H. Reid regarding the enslavement of a group of African Americans, C0362, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.

Summary

Extent:

0.01 Linear Feet 1 folder

Abstract:

Letter to James H. Reid regarding the enslavement of a group of African Americans, written on May 22, 1850.

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Letter to James H. Reid regarding the enslavement of a group of African Americans, C0362, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.

Background

Scope and content:

Letter to James H. Reid regarding the enslavement of a group of African Americans, written on May 22, 1850. The letter's writer is concerned with the transportation of the group from one location to another at the hand of James H. Reid.

Biographical / historical:

The enslavement of individuals of African descent - as well as other peoples of color - was legalized in the United States in 1641, with African Americans being the majority of enslaved individuals around 1708. The demand for enslaved individuals to work on southern plantations in the U.S. began in 1694, which only increased over time. In 1861 the Civil War erupted, one of the key issues of the war being states' rights as they related to the institution of slavery. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclimation, which declared all enslaved peoples in Confederate states free, but this did not end slavery entirely. Two years later on December 18, 1865, slavery in the United States was officially abolished with the 13th Amendment. Despite the legal freedom of African Americans post-Amendment, the racist treatment and oppression of African Americans did not wane, resulting in Jim Crow law and eventually catalyzing the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s.

Acquisition information:

The donor is unknown.

Processing information:

Processing completed by Amanda Brent in June 2019. EAD markup completed by Amanda Brent in June 2019.

Arrangement:

This is a single item collection.

Physical location:

R 72, C3, S 4

Rules or conventions:

Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Related

Related material:

The Special Collections Research Center also holds other collections related to the topic of slavery in the United States, including the George Mason letters to John Augustine Washington III, the Deed of gift for an enslaved woman by Maynadier Mason, the Contract transfering ownership of enslaved man Peyton Cook, and the Adam Bell notice for escaped enslaved man.

Alternative form available:

This collection has been digitized and is available to view here.

Indexed terms

Subjects:

Slave trade
Slavery -- United States