Until Justice Be Done: America's First Civil Rights Movement, from the Revolution to Reconstruction

by Kate Masur

Settlement law made no pretense of treating everyone equally. Its main orientation was not individual rights but community well-being, and in this context, persons who were perceived as economically and socially independent had far more privileges than those who were not. The ability to choose one’s own legal settlement was most available to male heads of household, who in turn were expected to be responsible for dependents such as wives, children, and servants. Dependents who attempted to move on their own could be forcibly returned to the place where the husband, father, or master was a legal resident. Strangers seeking settlements in new communities had to pass certain hurdles—paying taxes, owning property, or posting security to indemnify the community against the possibility that they might become dependent on public welfare. If all went well, some might ultimately gain a settlement in a new place.