New York Passes Gradual Emancipation — Slavery Persists Until 1827

New York's Gradual Emancipation Act of 1799, signed into law on July 4, freed no one immediately. Children born to enslaved mothers after July 4, 1799 would be free — but must serve their mother's enslaver until age 28 (males) or 25 (females), effectively an indentured labor period of decades. Alexander Hamilton's New York Manumission Society had lobbied for the law. Existing enslaved adults remained enslaved for life. Full emancipation in New York did not come until 1827, and even then former 'apprentices' were not freed until their terms expired. New York City had the largest urban enslaved population outside the South as late as 1800.