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Difficulty: EasyLegal Construction of Slavery and Slave Codes

Consider this excerpt from a 1664 Maryland colonial law:

'Be it enacted... that all Negroes or other slaves within the province, and all Negroes and other slaves to be hereafter imported into the province, shall serve *Durante Vita* [for life]...'

This statute reflects which of the following developments in the legal construction of American slavery?

  1. A
    The implementation of the maternal descent rule, which determined a child's legal status based on the status of their mother.
  2. B
    The total prohibition of the transatlantic slave trade to prevent the importation of any future laborers.
  3. The codification of lifetime bondage, legally separating the status of enslaved Africans from that of temporary indentured servants.Answer
  4. D
    The automatic grant of freedom to any enslaved person who converted to Christianity.

Answer

The codification of lifetime bondage, legally separating the status of enslaved Africans from that of temporary indentured servants.
The correct answer is correct because the Maryland Act of 1664 declared that all current and future imported black slaves would serve *Durante Vita* (for life). This legislative action was a critical step in the statutory evolution of American slavery, as it legally solidified that bondage was permanent and lifelong, contrasting with the temporary terms of indentured servants.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the historical source excerpt for key legal terms and their definitions.
The Latin phrase *Durante Vita* is translated in the text as 'for life,' indicating a mandate for permanent, lifelong service.
Understanding the core legal term is necessary to identify the specific shift in labor status being codified.
2
Evaluate how lifetime service differentiated enslaved individuals from other colonial laborers.
Unlike indentured servants who served temporary terms (usually 4 to 7 years) under a contract, the Maryland statute locked enslaved Black individuals into permanent bondage.
This establishes the distinction between temporary labor systems and the emerging system of chattel slavery.
3
Match the analyzed legal shift with the correct option.
The option stating that the statute codified lifetime bondage, separating the status of enslaved Africans from temporary indentured servants, correctly summarizes this change.
This directly demonstrates the application of the 'Durante Vita' concept to the statutory evolution of racialized slavery.

Key Concept

The statutory transition from temporary servitude to permanent, lifetime chattel slavery (Durante Vita).
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Topics

Legal Construction of Slavery and Slave Codes

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