Thirty-four residents of Hardeman County ask the legislature to consider "the importance of passing a law, to prevent, negroes, preaching; in this our State, as we believe, its practice, alike, baneful, to the negro, and dangerous to the public weal & safety, & Injurious to the great mass of negroes who attend such worship." They aver that such a minister, "in a great majority of cases, is entirely unlettered and hence cannot understand and properly expound the great & essential truths of the Bible." More importantly, the petitioners insist that "by assembling in great numbers under pretext of Divine worship, crowds of disorderly blacks that oftener ends in the propagation of mischief than the diffusion of useful knowledge." They believe, in fact, "that the frequent insurrectionary outbreaks that disturb the repose, tranquility and sometimes even safety of communities are much oftener the fruits of these gatherings." The petitioners therefore "pray that your Honorable Body pass a law that will effectually protect us from the evils and dangers that must continue to follow the practice of a system."
Result: Referred to judiciary committee.
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Repository: Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville, Tennessee
