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Difficulty: Very hardLegal Construction of Slavery and Slave Codes

Read the excerpt from a colonial law enacted in Virginia in 1667:

"WHEREAS some doubts have risen whether children that are slaves by birth, and by the charity and piety of their owners made partakers of the sacrament of baptism, should by virtue of their baptism be made free; It is enacted... that the conferring of baptism doth not alter the condition of the person as to his bondage or freedom..."

Based on the excerpt, which of the following best analyzes how this statute contributed to the legal construction of slavery in the English colonies?

  1. It decoupled Christian religious status from legal definitions of freedom, facilitating the growth of racialized chattel slavery while removing a financial disincentive for enslavers to convert enslaved people.Answer
  2. B
    It completed the instantaneous codification of racialized chattel slavery by immediately outlawing all forms of white indentured servitude and establishing racial categories.
  3. C
    It legally established the doctrine of partus sequitur ventrem by stipulating that the status of children would be determined by the baptismal records of their mothers.
  4. D
    It prohibited the baptism of enslaved individuals in order to prevent them from seeking legal protections and freedom in colonial courts.

Answer

The statute decoupled Christian religious status from legal definitions of freedom, facilitating the growth of racialized chattel slavery while removing a financial disincentive for enslavers to convert enslaved people.
The correct option is correct because the 1667 Virginia statute addressed a major legal and religious contradiction. Previously, English custom suggested that Christians could not be enslaved. By legally declaring that the sacrament of baptism had no effect on a person's status of bondage, the law decoupled Christianity from freedom. This secured the property interests of enslavers, encouraging them to convert enslaved people while solidifying racial heritage as the sole determinant of slavery.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the text of the 1667 Virginia statute.
The text states that baptism does not alter the legal status of an enslaved person (whether they are in bondage or free).
This establishes the literal meaning of the document: baptism does not bring freedom.
2
Connect the statute to the broader legal context of the English colonies.
In early English colonial thinking, non-Christian status (being an infidel or heathen) was a primary justification for enslavement. Converting to Christianity threatened this justification.
This explains why 'doubts have risen' regarding the legal effect of baptism.
3
Evaluate the social and economic impact of the law.
By legally separating religious status from legal bondage, the colonial assembly protected the property rights of enslavers, allowing them to perform Christian missionary duties without economic loss.
This shows how the law systematically constructed and protected racialized chattel slavery over time.

Key Concept

The statutory evolution of racial slavery and the transition from religious to racial justifications for lifetime bondage in colonial law.
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Topics

Legal Construction of Slavery and Slave Codes

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