1804

Following Haiti's declaration of independence in 1804, Congress passed legislation banning the importation of persons from Haiti — specifically targeting the free Black population of the new republic. The law reflected Southern slaveholders' fears that Haitian free Black sailors and emigrants would spread revolutionary ideology. It was an early instance of American foreign policy being dictated by domestic slavery's defense.

Following Haiti's independence, Congress banned importation of persons from Haiti, targeting the free Black population of the new republic. Southern slaveholders feared Haitian sailors and emigrants would spread revolutionary ideology. It was an early instance of domestic slavery dictating US foreign policy.

New Jersey became the last Northern state to pass a gradual abolition law. Like New York's 1799 act, it freed no living enslaved person; only children born to enslaved mothers after passage would eventually be freed. The 1840 federal census recorded 674 people still enslaved in New Jersey under this act. New Jersey was the only Northern state where slavery appeared in the 1840 census.

New Jersey's gradual emancipation law, passed February 15, 1804, was the last Northern state to act. Like its predecessors, it freed no one already enslaved. Children born to enslaved mothers after July 4, 1804 would be free — after serving their mother's enslaver until age 25 (males) or 21 (females). New Jersey still had 236 people officially classified as 'apprentices for life' in the 1860 census — effectively enslaved — and was the only Northern state with remaining enslaved people at the start of the Civil War. The 'gradual' character of Northern emancipation meant slavery effectively persisted in New Jersey until the 13th Amendment in 1865.

"Free" Ohio passes Black Laws requiring registration and bond — proof that Northern freedom came hedged with restriction.

The last Northern state to act passes a gradual abolition law — though some remained "apprenticed for life" until the 1860s.