Sixteen citizens of Wilson County, "having witnessed the evil & injurious effects growing out of the practice in force in this, & other sections of the state, in permitting Free negroes to peddle & barter about the country," ask that a law be passed "which shall prohibit Free negroes from peddling & bartering about the country." The petitioners avow that said free people of color offer slaves "inducements to steal, traffic, & to indulge in other vicous practices" and they “ask you to use proper means in the passage of an act, which shall remedy the evils above hinted at.”
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Repository: Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville, Tennessee
