‘The General Laws of the State of California from 1850 to 1864’

Dublin Core

Title

‘The General Laws of the State of California from 1850 to 1864’

Subject

California
civil rights
marriage
Civil War
schools
servitude
fugitives
board of examination
sea lions
slavery prohibition
labour

Description

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 from Labour Act of 1852 freed slaves once they became Californian citizens; also interracial marriage between white and any non-white Californians was deemed illegal.
This source is significant because it shows the complexity of bonded labour laws. The type of slavery prohibited was given a broad definition, rather than being explicitly defined in the manuscript. Therefore, the practice of slavery was permitted to continue by default, during the Gold Rush period.

Creator

Theodore H. Hittell, Bancroft and Company, San Francisco, California

Publisher

Sacramento State University Library Collection

http://digital.lib.csus.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/curr/id/272/rec/1

Date

1865

Contributor

Leah Guy

Rights

Sacramento State University Library
http://digital.lib.csus.edu/

Language

English

Type

Textual - printed government document

Identifier

19th century California

Files

General Laws.png

Collection

Citation

Theodore H. Hittell, Bancroft and Company, San Francisco, California, “‘The General Laws of the State of California from 1850 to 1864’,” The American Pacific Rim: Colonisation, Conflict and Connections, 1800-Present, accessed May 2, 2024, https://theamericanpacificrim.omeka.net/items/show/174.