Overlooking The Law: The Practices Against Blacks In Texas From 1821-1872

Abstract

This study of slavery in Texas concerns how various social practices harmful to blacks was accomplished by overlooking the law between 1680 and 1872 , as demonstrated in slave narratives collected by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1939. What began as an examination of slave codes in the state of Texas ultimately evolved into a much greater fascination with the creation and implementation of various laws for enslaved and freed African Americans. This work thus addresses the a range of practices adopted by slaveholders and white lawmakers in Texas against African Americans, both free and enslaved, that resulted in overlooking the law. Three topics surveyed in this study are family and marriage, labor, and the efforts of the Freedmen's Bureau.