Before the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was approved in 1865, people in Michigan had different views about slavery. Some supported slavery, while others worked to end it.
Slavery
Slavery in Michigan began centuries ago when the French started trading with Native American tribes in the 16th century. Detroit was founded at the start of the 18th century, and from that time, records began to track the number of enslaved people. These records are not complete, so the actual numbers may be higher. Historian Marcel Trudel found that about 523 Native American and 127 Black people were enslaved in Detroit during the 18th and early 19th centuries, totaling 650 people. The average lifespan for enslaved Native Americans was 17.2 years, and for enslaved Black people, it was 25.2 years.
About 10% of early Detroit’s population included indentured servants, who worked for five to seven years to pay for their transportation to the New World or to settle debts. These individuals were free people, but their work agreements could be sold or transferred.
When Native American tribes fought other tribes, the winning tribe sometimes captured women and children and brought them into their communities. They also captured people to replace warriors who died in battle. Slavery was not seen as ownership in the same way as in European societies, but enslaved people were sometimes given as gifts during trade or negotiations. Enslaved individuals were traded between tribes, and some suffered physical harm, such as having their ears cut or eyes injured. The children of enslaved Native Americans were not automatically enslaved. Over time, some enslaved women gained social acceptance and freedom after years of hardship. Slavery may have existed for hundreds of years before European contact.
When the French arrived in present-day Michigan, they brought enslaved people and encouraged Native Americans to trade enslaved individuals. Most enslaved people in Michigan lived in Detroit or at the trading post near the Straits of Mackinac, now Mackinac Island. Slavery in Detroit began in 1701, when the settlement was founded. The area included Fort Ponchartrain, a government trading store on the Detroit River, and ribbon farms.
New France passed the Raudot Ordinance in 1709, which made slavery legal in the colony. Both French citizens and enslaved people in New France were Roman Catholics. In 1724, Louis XV’s Code Noir required enslaved people to be baptized and educated, with free individuals as their godparents. Major life events for enslaved people, such as birth and death, were managed by the church, which limited the control slaveholders had over their enslaved workers.
Fur traders used enslaved Native Americans and African Americans for tasks like operating boats, handling furs, growing food, cooking, and cleaning. About 25% of Detroit’s population were enslaved workers, and they produced half of the city’s main goods: beef, oats, and wheat. Some fur traders lived in the wilderness and took enslaved Native American women as partners or companions. Some of these women became interpreters or traders. Farmers sometimes owned enslaved people and worked alongside them or hired them. For example, John Askin, an 18th-century fur trader, owned eight enslaved people, including an Odawa woman named Monette, who had three children with him.
Enslaved Black people were brought to Detroit by British settlers, some from slave markets in New York. Native American tribes sometimes captured enslaved Black people during raids on European settlements to protect their lands. Native tribes often traveled with soldiers, and some officers owned enslaved people.
In 1773, there were 73 enslaved people in Detroit. By 1782, the number had grown to 170. During the American Revolutionary War, free and enslaved Black people were recruited to fight, and enslaved men were freed in return. Black veterans received benefits. Two Black Loyalists in Butler’s Rangers gained freedom and received land near Detroit.
When the Northwest Territory was created in 1787, the Northwest Ordinance banned slavery with the rule: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall exist in the territory.” However, enslaved people still lived in Michigan until 1837. French and British slaveowners in the territory kept enslaved people due to loopholes in American laws. The ordinance meant new enslaved people could not be brought into the area.
The Jay Treaty between Britain and the United States made it illegal to buy or sell enslaved people. However, 300 enslaved people in Detroit in 1795 remained enslaved. Catholic priests owned enslaved people, and one enslaved person helped build the Basilica of Sainte Anne de Détroit in 1800. Enslaved people helped build Detroit, often sleeping on kitchen floors and facing physical violence or sexual abuse. Some were hired out to others, allowing them to move freely in the city. Some enslaved people married into the families of their enslavers.
Elijah Brush, a slaveholder, supported the freedom of an enslaved family. William Macomb, who owned Grosse Ile, owned 26 enslaved people, which was rare. Other prominent slave-owning families in Detroit included the Campaus, Woodwards, Abbotts, Beaubiens, Casses, and others.
By the 19th century, the number of enslaved people in Michigan gradually decreased. Some enslavers freed their enslaved people voluntarily. Enslaved people found safety with residents of the Michigan Territory, in Canada, or along the Great Lakes. For example, John Askin’s enslaved woman, Madeline, fled to work along the Great Lakes.
Anti-slavery feelings grew over time, so by the 19th century, people who crossed into Canada were free and not returned to slavery. Slave catchers were harassed in Detroit. In 1806, an overseer was illegally tarred and feathered. After Detroit’s fire in 1805, plans to rebuild included giving land to free and some enslaved Black people.
Some enslaved people filed lawsuits to gain freedom, but few succeeded in court. In 1807, the Denison family sued for the freedom of their children, citing the Northwest Ordinance. A judge ruled the children should remain enslaved, but the family later moved to Canada. Eventually, the judge agreed enslaved people who lived in Canada were free. Lisette Denison became a successful businesswoman. In 1808, two people from Canada won freedom through lawsuits. In 1809, a boy named Thomas and a woman named Hannah were also freed.
By 1810, there were 24 enslaved people in Michigan, 17 in Detroit. Free and enslaved
Anti-slavery movement
In 1832, the first anti-slavery society in Michigan was started by Elizabeth Chandler, a member of the Quaker religion, in a meetinghouse in Adrian, Michigan. Laura Haviland joined the society. In 1836, the Michigan Anti-Slavery Society was established in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
George DeBaptiste was known as the "president" of the Detroit Underground Railroad, William Lambert as the "vice president" or "secretary," and Laura Haviland as the "superintendent." The Second Baptist Church of Detroit, which was a stop on the Underground Railroad, was organized in 1836. Freedom seekers traveled across the Detroit River into Canada. Henry Bibb, who escaped slavery, moved to Michigan in 1842. He was the child of an enslaved woman and her owner. He shared stories about how enslaved people were treated in the South and encouraged others to "break your chains and fly for freedom."
In 1847, people from Kentucky traveled to Cass County and tried to capture at least nine formerly enslaved individuals. Adam Crosswhite and his family, former enslaved people living in Marshall, were among those targeted (Marshall Crosswhite Affair). In 1855, the Michigan legislature passed the Personal Liberty Act, which made it harder for enslaved people to be captured and returned to slavery.
Sojourner Truth, a former enslaved woman and abolitionist, moved to Battle Creek in 1857. She published The Narrative of Sojourner Truth and became a national speaker for the anti-slavery and women's movements.
In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed enslaved African Americans in the Confederate States. In 1864, the First Michigan Colored Infantry Regiment was formed to fight in the Civil War. In 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was passed, banning slavery.