The Journey of August King Slavery in North Carolina

The Journey of August King The movie was made in 1995 and was filmed in North Carolina. It is from a book by the same name written by John Ehle, a NC writer from Winston-Salem who wrote a series of book about the history of NC.

The Journey of August King The story is set in North Carolina in 1815 in the mountains.

Western North Carolina The area had one of the largest native American settlements in NC until it was settled in 16th century by Spaniards who set up a fort there. The fort, called Fort San Juan, was only there for 18 months in 1567-1568 because the natives of the area burnt the fort, all the buildings and killed almost all of the Spaniards. No white people settled there again until the early 1700s.

Slavery in North Carolina

Slavery in North Carolina Almost all of the slaves in North Carolina lived on the coast or in the Triangle where wealthy whites were located. In Wilmington, slaves outnumbered whites 2-1. The Triad was settled mostly by Quakers, who were against slavery, and the rest of the state was populated by poor independent farmers who generally couldn’t afford slaves.

Slavery in North Carolina There were slave codes in NC as early as 1715. The Slave Code of 1715 “required slaves to carry a ticket from their master whenever they left the plantation. The ticket stated where they were traveling and the reason for their travel. The 1715 code also prevented slaves from gathering in groups for any reason, including religious worship, and required whites to help capture runaway slaves.” http://www.lib.unc.edu/stories/slavery/story/colonial3.html

Slavery in North Carolina 2. “A second set of even stricter laws was put into place in 1741. These laws prevented slaves from raising their own livestock and from carrying guns without their master’s permission, even for hunting. The law also limited manumission, or freeing of slaves. It stated that a master could only free a slave for “meritorious services,” and even then the decision had to be approved by the county court. Perhaps the most ominous of all the laws was the one regarding runaway slaves. It stated that if runaways refused to surrender immediately, they could be killed and there would be no legal consequences.” http://www.lib.unc.edu/stories/slavery/story/colonial3.html

Slavery in North Carolina In 1774 the state placed a ban on importing slaves. It was lifted in 1790, but even though slavery increased, NC still had fewer slaves than any of the neighboring states.

Slavery in North Carolina Slave patrols were set up to deal with escaped slaves and to be sure that any blacks out walking had papers or a “free” badge- they were required by the state and all freed blacks had to wear them visibly, and they had to be large- the size of your hand.

Slavery in North Carolina Population in 1860 Total Urban Percent Urban Rural Free Black Slave 992,622 24,554 2.5 968,068 30,463 331,059