HOW DID ENSLAVED PEOPLE BECOME FREE?
THE LAW Owners were always legally able to emancipate enslaved Africans and their descendents. A few, such as George Washington, chose to do this in their wills; some emancipated them during their lifetimes. Still, we must ask why so many waited until they were forced to do so by the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 and the 14th Amendment in 1868. In 1780, Pennsylvania passed the nation’s first Gradual Abolition Act. This law only freed those born after March 1, 1790 to enslaved mothers; these children were still bound to their masters until they reached age 28. Pennsylvania law automatically emancipated enslaved after they had resided there for six months. Religious objections from the Quakers and others, as well as new ideas from the Enlightenment, caused some to question the morality of slavery. Even Washington and Jefferson said they opposed the institution, though neither emancipated all his slaves during his lifetime. Other states enacted gradual emancipation laws, and some terr
