An early Manifestation of Separate but Equal: ACTS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF VIRGINIA, 1852

General Assembly of Virginia

First Edition

The 1852 Acts of the General Assembly of Virginia document the legislative priorities of a slaveholding state at mid-century, capturing the intersection of racial control, economic expansion, and governance in the decades preceding the Civil War. Among the statutes is a revealing law titled “An Act to suppress Gambling by Negroes and white persons together,” which legislates interracial interaction itself as a site of state concern, demonstrating how Virginia authorities sought to regulate not only labor and movement but also informal social contact between Black and white populations. Such measures reflect the broader legal architecture of slavery-era society, where anxieties over racial hierarchy and social boundaries were codified into everyday law. Alongside this, the volume contains extensive acts related to taxation and fiscal policy, as well as numerous charters and provisions for navigation companies, steamship enterprises, and other internal improvements—evidence of Virginia’s participation in the wider market expansion and infrastructural development characteristic of the antebellum United States. The juxtaposition of economic modernization with increasingly codified racial restriction underscores the dual priorities of growth and control that defined Southern governance in this period.

Richmond: William F. Ritchie, Public Printer, 1852. First Edition. 8vo. Half legal calf over marbled boards with spine label; [3], 4–403 pages including index. The volume compiles the full legislative output of the Virginia General Assembly for the year, with sections devoted to taxation, corporate charters, transportation infrastructure, and social regulation. The presence of laws governing interracial conduct situates the work within the legal history of race relations in the United States, while the extensive material on navigation and steamship companies reflects the Commonwealth’s investment in regional and national economic integration during a period of rapid territorial and commercial expansion. Binding shows a crack at the front board gutter but remains holding; moderate wear to leather and boards consistent with age and use. Interior generally clean with expected toning. Overall condition is very good.

Item #19439

Price: $455.00