Negro law is an outdated and now repealed 19th century law that mandated the exclusion of any book deemed to be “derogatory” against the public morals.
The law was pushed by conservative Christian leaders at the time who saw it as a way to stop sexually explicit literature from being distributed.
This law, as many other laws enforced by Christian leaders at the time, also infringed on minority groups such as LGBTQ individuals, Jews and those of other faiths.
The first major battle over this law was in 1878 when Brooklyn police arrested Henry Spencer for selling allegedly obscene books from his store’s second floor.
The answer is discussed about, why did the “twenty-negro law” enrage many white southerners during the civil war?
Spencer was promptly tried and convicted despite the fact that he had obtained legal permission from his landlord to sell the books.
In response, radical feminist leader Susan B. Anthony and members of other progressive groups began a fight against the law that reached all the way to the White House.
They set up a lunch hour library that gave away free books to those who wished to read them, including one of Anthony’s own novels, which was deemed “objectionable”.
Here are some points discussed about the effects of Negro law–
1. Pushed LGBTQ discrimination
The 1900s saw a large rise in discrimination against those who engaged in homosexual relationships or those that identified as LGBTQ.
The support for these discriminatory laws came from the Church and state leaders who claimed that the Bible was a book of morality. They claimed that it was immoral to have relationships with someone of the same gender.
In addition, anti-miscegenation laws, which banned interracial marriages were also enforced over this time period.
Overall, these laws showed a severe lack of acceptance for those who were part of minority groups living in the United States at the time.
2. Impacted Women’s Rights
The history of the Negro law is deeply tied to the history of women’s rights, as many of the leaders pushing for this law also pushed against women’s rights.
These laws limited the type of literature that women were allowed to read and impacted their ability to express themselves through writing.
Many feminist writers at time were forced to release their works anonymously or face being banned from publishing those works. This was a stark contrast from countries such as France, who saw a boom in women’s literary works during this time period.
3. Impacted Jewish Rights
Religious discrimination was not confined to the LGBTQ community; it also affected Jewish people and other groups.
Christian leaders of the time often looked down on Jews and kept them from jobs and overall rights. There were many reports of anti-semitic attacks during this era, and many rabbis were forced to close their synagogues.
4. Impacted Freedom of Speech
It is important to note that while some laws such as the ones that banned the distribution of literature deemed “objectionable”, free speech was still upheld in some cases, such as in court trials where lawyers were allowed to argue their cases without censorship, but only until a verdict had been reached.
This shows that while there was freedom of speech in some areas, there were areas where free speech was not allowed.
5. Impacted Right to Privacy
With the Negro law, citizens lost their right to privacy as police officers could now legally search the private property of citizens without obtaining a warrant.
This led to many instances where police searched homes and arrested people without reason or for political gain.
6. Impacted Diversity of Literature
This law greatly impacted what literature was available during this time period, as it allowed only certain books to be published and sold by local retailers.
This caused many bookstores to close down, and smaller publishers to stop publishing works that could be deemed “offensive” by the conservative Christian community.
As the years went on, the term “Negro Law” morphed into simply just freedom of information laws. These laws are much more akin to today’s freedom of speech laws that protect citizens’ rights to publish whatever they want without fear of repercussions.
7. Had Impact on Local Law-makers
The effects of this law and others like it pushed many local lawmakers to find ways to push back against these laws and enforce freedom of speech.
One such lawmaker was Abraham Lincoln, who saw how this law affected the rights of American citizens.
He proposed that all free men have the right to speak freely without being punished for their actions, which is now known as the First Amendment.
