2. LAWS RELATING TO FREEDMEN Marriages of Negroes (Alabama) Senate Ex. Doc. no. 26, 39 Cong., 1 Sess. In other Southern states the legislatures passed laws similar to this ordinance. [September, 1865] Be it ordained by the people of the State of Alabama, in convention assembled, That all marriages between freedmen and freedwomen, whether in a state of slavery, or since their emancipation, heretofore solemnized by any one acting or officiating as a minister, or any one claiming to exercise the right to solemnize the rights of matrimony, whether bond or free, are hereby ratified and made valid, provided the parties are now living together as man and wife, and in all cases of freedmen and freedwomen who are now living together, recognizing each other as man and wife. . the same are hereby declared to be man and wife, and bound by the legal obligations of such relationship... The issue of such marriages or co-habitation are hereby legitimatized, and shall be held to the same relations and obligations from and to their parents as if born in lawful wedlock. . . The fathers of children born without the father and mother having lived together as man and wife, or when they have heretofore lived together as man and wife, and have ceased to do so, shall be required to take care of such children, as in the case of bastards, under the laws of this State, and such laws on this subject as may be hereafter enacted by the general assembly. . . Hereafter, freedmen and freedwomen shall be bound by the same laws of intermarriage, and be required to conform to similar ceremonies, with the exception that they shall not be required to give bond in marrying, as in the case of whites, until otherwise enacted by the general assembly. The general assembly shall be, and are hereby, invested with full powers to provide for the maintenance and support of the freedmen and women and children of the State of Alabama. 18 Intermarriage between the Races Forbidden (Alabama) Penal Code of Alabama (1866), p. 31, secs. 61, 62. There were and are still similar laws in the other Southern states. [1866] IF any white person and any negro, or the descendant of any negro, to the third generation inclusive, though one ancestor of each generation be a white person, intermarry, or live in adultery or fornication with each other, each of them must, on conviction, be imprisoned in the penitentiary, or sentenced to hard labor for the county, for not less than two, nor more than seven years. Any probate judge, who issues a license for the marriage of any persons who are prohibited by the last preceding section from intermarrying, knowing that they are within the provisions of that section; and any justice of the peace, minister of the gospel, or other person by law authorized to solemnize the rites of matrimony, who performs a marriage ceremony for such persons, knowing that they are within the provisions of said section, must, each, on conviction, be fined not less than one hundred, nor more than one thousand dollars; and may also be imprisoned in the county jail, or sentenced to hard labor for the county, for not less than six months. Civil Rights of Negroes in Arkansas Acts of Arkansas, 1866-67, p. 98. [February 6, 1867] Sec. I. Be it enacted, etc., that persons hitherto known in law in this state, as slaves or as free persons of color, shall have the right to make and enforce contracts, to sue and be sued, to be affiants, give evidence, to inherit, purchase, lease, sell, hold, convey and assign real and personal property, to make wills and testaments, and to have full and equal benefit of the rights of personal security, personal liberty, and private property, and of all remedies and proceedings for the enforcement and protection of the same, that white persons now have, and shall not be subjected to any other or different punishment, pain or penalty, for the commission of any act or offense, than such as are prescribed for white persons committing like acts or offenses; and all laws, and statutes of this state shall be appli cable to all persons within its limits, without distinction of race or color, except as hereinafter provided. Sec. 2. Be it further enacted, That all acts and parts of acts specially relating to negroes or mulattoes, contrary to these provisions be, and the same are hereby repealed; Provided, that nothing herein contained, shall be construed to repeal or modify any statute, common law or usage of this state, respecting the marriage of white persons with negroes or mulattoes, voting at elections, service on juries or militia duties. Sec. 4. Be it further enacted, That all marriages between negroes and mulattoes shall be hereafter solemnized by the same persons and governed in all respects by the laws in force at the time as to white persons; Provided, That the clerks of the courts of each county shall keep a separate book for the record of the marriages of negroes and mulattoes. Sec. 5. Be it further enacted, That no negro or mulatto shall be admitted to attend any public school in this state, except such schools as may be established exclusively for colored persons. Negro Testimony in Alabama Courts Penal Code of Alabama (1866), p. 164, sec. 68. In other Southern states similar, provision was made for negro testimony. [December 9, 1865] FREEDMEN, free negroes, and mulattoes, are competent witnesses in any criminal case, where the defendant is a freedman, free negro, or mulatto, or where the prosecution is for an injury to the person or property of a freedman, free negro or mulatto; but they can only testify as witnesses in open court; and whenever a freedman, free negro, or mulatto, is a witness against a white person, or a white person is a witness against a freedman, free negro, or mulatto, the parties are competent witnesses, and may testify in open court, and are not disqualified by any interest in the question or suit, or by marriage. Labor Contracts in Florida Acts and Resolutions of General Assembly of Florida, 1865-66, p. 32. Sec. I. Be it enacted, etc., . . That all contracts of persons L of color shall be made in writing and fully explained to them before two credible witnesses, which contract shall be in duplicate, one copy to be retained by the employer and the other filed with some judicial officer of the State and county in which the parties may be residing at the date of the contract, with the affidavit of one or both witnesses, setting forth that the terms and effect of such contract were fully explained to the colored person, and that he, she or they had voluntarily entered into and signed the contract, and no contract shall be of any validity against any person of color unless so executed and filed: Provided, That contracts for service of labor may be made for less time than thirty days by parol. Sec. 2. And Whereas, It is essential to the welfare and prosperity of the entire population of the State that the agricultural interest be sustained and placed upon a permanent basis: It is therefore enacted, That when any person of color shall enter into a contract as aforesaid, to serve as a laborer for a year, or any other specified term, on any farm or plantation in this State, if he shall refuse or neglect to perform the stipulations of his contract by wilful disobedience of orders, wanton impudence, or disrespect to his employer or his authorized agent, failure or refusal to perform the work assigned to him, idleness, or abandonment of the premises or the employment of the party with whom the contract was made, he or she shall be liable, upon the complaint of his employer, or his agent, made under oath before any Justice of the Peace of the county, to be arrested and tried before the criminal court of the county, and upon conviction shall be subject to all the pains and penalties prescribed for the punishment of vagrancy . . if it shall on such trial appear that the complaint made is not well founded, the court shall dismiss such complaint, and give judg ment in favor of such laborer, against the employer, for such sum as may appear to be due under the contract, and for such damages as may be assessed by the jury. Sec. 3. .. when any employee as aforesaid shall be in the occupancy of any house or room on the premises of the employer by virtue of his contract to labor, and he shall be adjudged to have violated his contract; or when any employee as aforesaid shall attempt to hold possession of such house or room beyond the term of his contract, against the consent of the employer, it shall be the duty of the Judge of the Criminal Court, upon the application of the employer and due proof made before him, to issue his writ to the Sheriff of the Court, commanding him forthwith to eject the said employee and to put the employer into full possession of his premises. Sec. 4. if any person employing the services or labor of another under contract entered into as aforesaid shall violate his contract by refusing or neglecting to pay the stipulated wages or compensation agreed upon, or any part thereof, or by turning off the employee before the expiration of the term, unless for sufficient cause, or unless such right is reserved by the contract, the party so employed may make complaint thereof before the Judge of the Criminal Court, who shall at an early day, on reasonable notice to the other party, cause the same to be tried by a jury to be summoned for the purpose, who, in addition to the amount that may be proved to be due under the contract, may give such damages as they in their discretion may deem to be right and proper, and the judgment thereon shall be a first lien on the crops of all kinds in the cultivation of which such laborer may have been employed. . . Sec. 5. .. if any person shall entice, induce, or otherwise persuade any laborer or employee to quit the services of another to which he was bound by contract, before the expiration of the term of service stipulated in said contract, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be fined in a sum not exceeding one thousand dollars, or shall stand in the pillory not more than three hours, or be whipped not more than thirtynine stripes on the bare back, at the discretion of the jury. Schools for Freedmen in Florida Acts and Resolutions of General Assembly of Florida, 1865-66, p. 37. [January 16, 1866] Sec. I. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of Florida, That the Governor shall appoint an officer, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, who shall be |