The Slave Codes. Alabama 1833 [View all]
Just saw "Lincoln" (Highly recommend it.) which led me do do a little research.
I was born (1941) and raised in Alabama.
We have come along way since then.
We still have a way to go, but trust me, we're working on it.
Every day.
But take a look at this.
I had no idea.
Some Slavery Codes made teaching Negroe, Mulatto, Indian and indentured slaves illegal.[2]
Alabama, 1833, section 31 - "Any person or persons who attempt to teach any free person of color, or slave, to spell, read, or write, shall, upon conviction thereof by indictment, be fined in a sum not less than two hundred and fifty dollars, nor more than five hundred dollars."
(This was a fortune in 1833.)
Alabama, 1833, section 32 - "Any free person of color who shall write for any slave a pass or free paper, on conviction thereof, shall receive for every such offense, thirty-nine lashes on the bare back, and leave the state of Alabama within thirty days thereafter..."
Alabama, 1833, section 33 - "Any slave who shall write for any other slave, any pass or free-paper, upon conviction, shall receive, on his or her back, one hundred lashes for the first offence, and seven hundred lashes for every offence thereafter..."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slave_codes
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