BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY: SLAVERY IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA:

Slavery in the United States was governed by an extensive body of Law developed from the 1640s  to the 1860s every slave state had its own Slave Codes and made slavery a permanent conditions inherited through the mother, and defined slaves as property, usually in the same terms as those applied to real estates. Slaves being property could not own property or be a party to a contract, since marriage is a form of contract, no slave marrage had any legal standing.  All codes also had sections regulating free Blacks who were still subjected to controls on their movement and employment and were often required to leave the state after emancipation.

When the District Of Columbia was established in 1800, laws of Maryland, including its slave laws remained in force. Additional laws on slavery and free Blacks were then made by the District Of Columbia. By Southern standards its slave code were moderate. Slaves were permitted to hire out their services and live apart from their masters. Free Blacks were permitted to live in the city and to operate private schools. By 1860 the District Of Columbia was home to 11,131 free Blacks and 3185 Slaves.