How White Fear and Paranoia in 19th Century Delaware Impacted Black Freedom

• Mary Ladely, History, University of Delaware

• Dael Norwood, History, University of Delaware

This paper examines Black freedom in 19th-century Delaware. Following an enslaved revolt in Virginia and rumors of a similar conspiracy in Sussex County in 1831, white Delawareans asked the state legislature to pass a law that would prevent free Black people from owning firearms and from having assemblies at night. Even though no revolt occurred in Delaware, the legislature listened to the petitioners and passed “An act to prevent the use of fire-arms, by free negroes, and free mulattoes, and for other purposes.“ By using petitions, newspapers, letters, and legislative records, this paper tracks the role white fear played in the development of this law, the reaction to it, and how it changed in Delaware after 1832.