History of slavery in New Jersey facts for kids

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This house from 1763 belonged to Thomas Cadmus in Essex County, New Jersey. The small building's top floor was used as slave quarters for enslaved people.

Slavery in New Jersey started in the early 1600s. Dutch settlers brought enslaved Africans to work in the new colony of New Netherland. When England took over in 1664, they continued to bring enslaved people from Africa. They also brought enslaved people from their colonies in the West Indies and enslaved Native Americans from the Carolinas.

Many early Dutch and English settlers came to New Jersey as indentured servants. These people worked for a set number of years to pay for their trip. As life in England got better, fewer indentured servants came. So, New Jersey colonists brought more enslaved Africans to do the work. To encourage more people and workers, the government gave settlers 60 acres (24 ha) of land for each person they brought to the colony. In 1704, after East and West Jersey joined, the Province of New Jersey passed a "slave code." This law stopped enslaved people and free Black people from owning property. It added more rules that limited African Americans in the state.

During the American Revolution, enslaved Africans fought on both sides. The British promised freedom to enslaved people who left their rebel masters and fought for them. Thousands of enslaved Africans escaped to the British, hoping for freedom. The number of Black people in Manhattan grew to 10,000. The British did not return these freed people to the Americans. They helped over 3,000 freedmen move to their colony of Nova Scotia. Others went to England and the West Indies.

Bergen County became the area with the most enslaved people in New Jersey. This was partly because many enslaved Africans worked in its ports and cities. In 1800, Bergen County had about 3,000 enslaved Africans. This was almost 20% of its total population. After the Revolutionary War, many northern states quickly ended slavery. New Jersey did not end it until 1804. Even then, it was a slow process called gradual emancipation, similar to New York's. But in New Jersey, some people were still enslaved as late as 1865. (In New York, all enslaved people were freed by 1827.) The New Jersey law said children born to enslaved mothers would be free at birth. But they had to work for their mothers' masters as apprentices until they were young adults. New Jersey was the last Northern state to completely end slavery. The 1860 census listed at least 43 people as enslaved in New Jersey. The youngest was 11 and the oldest was 95. Thirty-eight of these people were enslaved for life. This number is likely too low. Any enslaved people still in New Jersey in December 1865 were freed by the Thirteenth Amendment.

The Underground Railroad had several routes through New Jersey. Four of these routes ended in Jersey City. From there, enslaved people seeking freedom could cross the Hudson River. New Brunswick was another important stop for runaways on the Underground Railroad. During the American Civil War, African Americans from New Jersey served in all-Black Union Army groups.

In 2008, New Jersey's lawmakers officially apologized for slavery. It was the third state to do so. Rutgers University looked into its past ties to slavery during its 250th anniversary in 2016. Princeton University, the oldest college in New Jersey, shared its research from the Princeton & Slavery Project in 2017.

In 2019, the Durand-Hedden House & Garden in Maplewood, New Jersey, created a big exhibit about slavery in the state. This exhibit became a book called Slavery in New Jersey: A Troubled History. The book won an award and is used by The New Jersey State Bar Foundation for its lessons on African American history for middle and high school students.

Slavery's Start in Colonial New Jersey

The Dutch West India Company brought the first enslaved Africans to New Amsterdam (now New York City) in 1625. These eleven enslaved people worked as farmers, fur traders, and builders. Slavery then spread across the North River (Hudson River) to areas like Pavonia and Communipaw, which later became Bergen. Enslaved men worked on company farms there. Later, settlers also enslaved people for private use, often as house servants and workers. Even though they were enslaved, Africans had some basic rights. Families were usually kept together. They could join the Dutch Reformed Church and marry there. Their children were also baptized. Enslaved people could speak in court, sign papers, and sue white people. Some could work extra hours and earn the same pay as white workers. When the Dutch colony ended, the company stopped enslaving people, creating a group of free negros.

English traders continued to bring enslaved Africans after they took over the colony in 1664. The English leaders wanted more settlers and workers to develop the colony. They encouraged bringing enslaved people by offering land to settlers. This land was given based on the number of workers, enslaved or indentured servants, brought to the colony. The first enslaved Africans in English records belonged to Colonel Lewis Morris in Shrewsbury. At first, New Jersey tried to stop the trade of enslaved people by adding a tax. This was to encourage more European indentured servants. But when this law ended in 1721, the British Government and New Jersey's governor stopped it from being renewed. The slave trade was very profitable for the King.

In 1704, a "slave code" was passed in New Jersey. This law officially limited the freedoms of enslaved people. It stopped enslaved people and free African Americans from owning property. It also made certain actions illegal for African Americans, like being out after dark, which were not illegal for white people.

Some historians believe that Oak Ridge Park in Union County might have the only known ruins of slave homes in New Jersey.

Camden was a major place for bringing in enslaved people. Its ferry docks on the Delaware River across from Philadelphia were used as auction sites. Enslaved people were sold there for farms in the Delaware Valley, like Pomona Hall.

Perth Amboy was a "free port," meaning it welcomed ships carrying enslaved people. "Large barracks once stood in Perth Amboy, near the corner of Smith and Water streets. Enslaved people were kept there after being brought in."

In 2016, Rutgers University released a report called Scarlet and Black. It showed the university's connection to slavery. In 2017, Princeton University shared the findings of its Princeton & Slavery Project, which is still ongoing.

After the American Revolution

African American enslaved people fought on both sides during the American Revolution. The British promised freedom to enslaved people who left their rebel masters. The number of Black people in New York City grew to 10,000. Enslaved people escaped there from both northern and southern masters after the British took the city. The British kept their promise. They helped thousands of freedmen leave New York. About 3,500 Black Loyalists moved to Nova Scotia, and others went to Caribbean islands. Colonel Tye, also known as Titus Cornelius (born around 1753), was an enslaved African American. He became famous during the war for his leadership and fighting skills. He was one of the best guerrilla leaders fighting against the American rebels in Central Jersey.

After the Revolutionary War in the 1780s, New Jersey was slow to free enslaved people. This was because they wanted to rebuild their damaged economy. By 1790, New Jersey had about 14,000 enslaved people, almost all of African descent. The 1790 census, however, counted 11,423 enslaved people. This was 6.2% of the total population of 184,139. Before the Revolution, many enslaved people lived near Perth Amboy, a main entry point for New Jersey, and in the eastern counties. Enslaved people usually worked on farms. But they also did skilled jobs in shipyards and factories in coastal cities.

How Slavery Ended in New Jersey

After the Revolutionary War, New Jersey banned bringing in new enslaved people in 1788. But at the same time, it stopped free Black people from other places from settling in the state. In the first 20 years after the war, many northern states started to end slavery. Some slaveholders also freed their enslaved people on their own. Some people of color left the areas where they had been enslaved and moved to new places. Since enslaved people were widely used in farming and ports, the New Jersey state legislature was the last in the North to end slavery. It passed a law in 1804 for its gradual end.

The 1804 law and later laws freed children born after the law was passed. African Americans born to enslaved mothers after July 4, 1804, had to serve long apprenticeships to their mothers' owners. Women were freed at 21, but men were not freed until age 25. Enslaved people born before these laws were passed were considered "apprenticed for life" after 1846.

At first, New Jersey allowed free people of color to vote. But in 1807, the legislature took away their voting rights. This lasted until 1875. By 1830, two-thirds of the enslaved people remaining in the North were in New Jersey. New York had freed its last enslaved people in 1827. It was not until 1846 that New Jersey officially ended slavery. But it changed the rules, calling former enslaved people "apprentices for life." Slavery truly ended in the state only when it ended across the country in 1865. This happened after the American Civil War and the passing of the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

According to historian James Gigantino, there were more enslaved women than men in New Jersey in the early 1800s. After the 1804 law for gradual abolition, more ads appeared for selling enslaved women who could have children. Enslaved women and their ability to have children were very valuable. This was because their children would be born as enslaved people for a period, even after the 1804 law. However, skills for housework also affected how valuable enslaved women were. By 1830, African Americans made up 6% of New Jersey's total population. The city of New Brunswick had a large African American population, about 11%. This made New Brunswick a good place for runaways. But it also made the city a popular spot for slave hunters, who wanted to enforce the federal fugitive slave laws of 1850. In cities like New Brunswick, there were many ads for selling enslaved women, both before and after the 1804 law. This was because enslaved women were preferred for domestic work, which was in high demand in cities. However, enslaved women also did hard labor across New Jersey.

The Gradual Abolition Act of 1804 did not guarantee that a child born after 1804 would gain their freedom. Slaveholders would often sell these enslaved children to states in the South, like Louisiana, before they reached the age of freedom. By the 1830s, slavery was slowly decreasing in New Jersey.

Communities of free negros and freedmen formed in places like Dunkerhook in Paramus and Skunk Hollow (also called The Mountain) near the New York state line. An African American settler bought land there in 1806. Other families joined him, and the community lasted into the 1900s.

According to Gigantino, one out of ten enslaved people in New Jersey remained enslaved for life. Many slaveholders sold their enslaved people to Southern slaveholders. They did not like the idea of ending slavery. He said that about a quarter of New Jersey's African American population was forced into labor during the 1830s. Wrong information about who was free made it seem like slavery decreased faster than it actually did.

New Jersey and the Civil War

A total of 2,909 United States Colored Troops from New Jersey served in the Union Army. Because of the state's long apprenticeship rules, some African Americans in New Jersey were still enslaved when the American Civil War ended. It was not until the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was passed in 1865 that the last 16 enslaved people in the state were freed.

In the 1860 census, there were 25,318 free Black people in New Jersey. This was about 4% of the state's total population of 672,035. By 1870, the number grew to 30,658. But they made up a smaller percentage of the total population because many Europeans had moved to the state. Overall, New Jersey's population grew to 906,096, with almost 200,000 European immigrants.

New Jersey was slow to end slavery and did not want to pass the 13th Amendment. It finally passed it in January 1866. Some of its businesses, like shoe and clothing makers, sold many products to Southern plantation owners for their enslaved people. This was probably a reason for the delay.

On March 31, 1870, Thomas Mundy Peterson (1824–1904) became the first African American to vote in a New Jersey election in 63 years. The state had limited voting to white people in 1807. By this time, hundreds of thousands of African Americans had already voted in southern states under Reconstruction-era state laws.

In 1875, "Jack" Jackson, described as "the last slave in New Jersey," died at age 87. He lived on the Smith family farm in Secaucus. Abel Smith had freed his enslaved people in 1820. But Jackson "refused to accept his liberty" and stayed on the farm until he died. According to Abel Smith's will, Jackson was buried in the family burial ground.

Another person claimed to be the last surviving enslaved person in the state: Anthony Thompson. Born in 1798 in Somerset County, Thompson and his mother were later sold to Samuel M. Ward in Essex County. He was freed in 1822 and bought a home in West Orange in 1833. Thompson married twice and adopted a daughter. He died in 1884 and is buried at Rosedale Cemetery.

Enslaved Population in New Jersey

New Jersey's Apology for Slavery

In 2008, the New Jersey Legislature officially recognized the state's part in the history of slavery in the United States.

In 2019, the Legislative Black Caucus started efforts to research the role slavery played in the state's past.

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See also

• Colonel Tye
• Abolitionism in the United States
• American Civil War
• Fugitive slave laws
• Slave rebellion
• Slavery in Colonial America
• Slavery in the United States
• List of Underground Railroad sites
• Bordentown School
• History of slavery in the United States by state