Thirty-two citizens of Orange County complain about slaves being present during muster calls and at elections. They purport that "the unavoidable tendency of Musters and Elections to produce [a] distraction in the mind of slave, is a matter of general observation" and "they make him obstinate and sulky, sometimes indignant, and very frequently full of melancholy reflections upon that hard destiny which deprives him of the privileges of a free man, and obliges him to labour for an other"; moreover, slaves have opportunities to discuss plots of rebellion on such occasions. "Such a class of people your Petitioners would say are a Cancer on the breast of the body Politick and a Millstone hung around the necks of Masters.” They therefore seek a law "to prohibit for the future the attendance of negro slaves at any Muster or Election ground."
Result: Referred to committee; report unfavorable.
Or you may view all people.
Repository: North Carolina Department of Archives and History, Raleigh, North Carolina
