This is a photograph of a white child shining a black man’s shoes. It was used in the anti-slavery movement in California to evoke sympathy and show how inhumane slavery was. Although bonded labour was deemed illegal in the state laws, there were…
This is a manuscript of California state laws. It outlines the inalienable rights of its citizens, social, political and personal prohibitions, as well as local legislation. Slavery was prohibited unless it was a punishment for a crime, the fugitive…