Episode 1 of 2
Children bound to indentured servitude under the act
- When
- Effective for births after July 4, 1799
- Where
- New York State
Children born to enslaved parents after July 4, 1799 were legally free but obligated to serve until age 28 for men and 25 for women.
The act declared that children born to enslaved parents after July 4, 1799 would be obligated until a man turns 28 and a woman turns 25. Although framed as freedom, this arrangement characterized indentured servitude for blacks in a way that redefined slavery in the state rather than granting immediate emancipation.
Sources
- History of slavery in New York (state) Wikipedia, revision of 2026-07-23
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.