1797

In 1797 a group of free Black men from North Carolina, including Jacob Nicholson and Jupiter Nicholson, submitted a petition to Congress detailing how they had been freed by their Quaker enslavers, only to be re-enslaved under a North Carolina law that voided such manumissions. Congress refused to receive the petition on the grounds that it lacked jurisdiction over state slavery laws. It was one of the earliest formal Black political petitions in US history.

In January 1797, four free Black men from North Carolina — including Absalom Jones — filed a petition to Congress protesting a state law that required freed enslaved people to return to slavery and challenging the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793. It was the first anti-slavery petition to Congress by Black Americans. Congress voted 50–33 to refuse even to receive the petition. Representative John Swanwick of Pennsylvania was among the few who argued the petition deserved a hearing.

In January 1797, Absalom Jones and three other free Black men from North Carolina petitioned Congress protesting a state law re-enslaving freed people and challenging the 1793 Fugitive Slave Act. Congress voted 50–33 to refuse even to receive the petition — the first anti-slavery petition to Congress filed by Black Americans.