[Ads-l] Antedating of "Chain Gang"

[George Thompson]

The law that was passed in the late 1790s abolishing slavery in the state
applied only to babies born after the date of the law.  The mother and
older children were still held as slaves.  Slavery wasn't abolished until
1828.

Also: the scene described perhaps did not happen in New York State.

GAT

On Tue, Apr 8, 2025 at 7:15 AM James Landau <
00000c13e57d49b8-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:

> On  Tue, 8 Apr 2025 01:03:42 +0000   "Shapiro, Fred" <
> fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU> posted
> <chain gang (OED 1834)
> >>1813 New-York Evening Post 7 Sept. 3 / 4 (Newspapers.com)
> >>The chain gang of culprit's [sic] is delivered to their owners.
>
> I don't understand "culprits...their owners:".
> In 1813 slavery was illegal in New York.  Who are the "owners"?
>
> James Landau
> jjjrlandau at netscape.com
>
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>


-- 
George A. Thompson
Author of A Documentary History of "The African Theatre", Northwestern
Univ. Pr., 1998.

But when aroused at the Trump of Doom / Ye shall start, bold kings, from
your lowly tomb. . .
L. H. Sigourney, "Burial of Mazeen", Poems.  Boston, 1827, p. 112

The Trump of Doom -- also known as The Dunghill Toadstool.  (Here's a
picture of his great-grandfather.)

https://heritagecollections.parliament.uk/collections/getrecord/HOP_WOA_3851

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