Massachusetts Bans Its Citizens from Participating in the Slave Trade

In 1788, Massachusetts passed a law prohibiting state residents from participating in the transatlantic slave trade — fitting punishment, and fitting the same year it ratified the Constitution protecting that trade nationally. The law imposed fines and forfeiture on ship captains and owners. It was one of the first state laws specifically criminalizing the trade rather than merely restricting importation, and reflected the influence of the Boston-area abolitionist movement centered around the Pr