Ohio Black Laws: Free State Systematically Restricts Black Rights

Ohio — the first state carved from the Northwest Territory where slavery was banned — nonetheless enacted sweeping Black Laws from 1804 onward. Black residents had to register with county clerks, post $500 bond for good behavior, and could not testify against whites in court. Black children were excluded from public schools until 1849. Black men could not serve on juries or in the state militia. These laws were partially repealed in 1849 under antislavery Whig pressure, but Black Ohioans remained disenfranchised throughout the antebellum period. Cincinnati's Black community was attacked by white mobs in 1829, 1836, and 1841, driving thousands to Canada.