Study for "Liberty Displaying the Arts and Sciences, or The Genius of America Encouraging the Emancipation of the Blacks" by Samuel Jennings courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
For a brief period following the American Revolution, a combination of Revolutionary rhetoric about freedom, the changing economics of slavery, and growing religious opposition to enslavement opened a window for Virginians to consider abolishing slavery.
Between 1785 and 1801, five Virginians proposed plans for the gradual abolition of slavery in the Commonwealth. In 1790, Quaker Robert Pleasants founded the Virginia Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery. In 1791, Robert Carter, the grandson of Robert "King" Carter, began the process of freeing the 500 individuals he held in bondage. In 1796, Richard
Randolph, scion of the powerful Randolph family, emancipated his enslaved laborers in his will.
Read on to learn about the plans Virginians considered to end slavery—and how that window for abolition was slammed shut. And when you're done, be sure to play our Virginia History Timeline Game: Abolition Edition.
A number of prominent Virginians, including Thomas Jefferson and St. George Tucker, proposed plans for the gradual abolition of slavery in the Commonwealth during the two decades following the American Revolution. The plans differed in how long they would take to abolish slavery completely, but none envisioned the integration of free Black people into white society or the extension to them of the civil rights they had long been denied. Most proponents of gradual emancipation instead proposed sending free Black people to Africa or to the American hinterlands. Despite moral, religious, and economic arguments
against slavery—and several high-profile emancipations by wealthy Virginians—none of the plans gained sufficient support to make headway in the General Assembly. By the early nineteenth century, fears of slave rebellion and entrenched racial prejudice had undermined abolitionist sentiment.
In 1791, Robert Carter III, grandson of Robert "King" Carter, began the legal process of gradually freeing the 452 men and women he enslaved. He had "for some time past been convinced that to retain [these people] in Slavery is contrary to the true principles of Religion & Justice." Adults were to be freed in small groups each year based on their age, children were to be freed when they reached adulthood, and elderly people were to be allowed to independently farm on Carter’s Nomony Hall estate for the remainder of their lives. Despite delays and a lawsuit by his heirs, Carter's Deed of Gift eventually freed between 500 and 600 people—probably the largest emancipation by an individual in the United States before 1860.
Pleasants v. Pleasants was the largest judicial manumission of enslaved persons in U.S. history. The Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals ruled on May 6, 1799, that more than 400 enslaved persons were entitled to freedom under a provision in the wills of their deceased former enslavers: John Pleasants III and his son, Jonathan Pleasants. John Marshall, future chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, represented the enslaved at the behest of Quaker anti-slavery activist Robert Pleasants, son of John and brother to Jonathan, and executor of both estates, after other family members refused to free enslaved people under the terms of the will.
Page from the Last Will and Testament of John Pleasants III courtesy of the Huntington Library
Wednesday
SEPTEmber
30
Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Richmond Times-Dispatch archives, The Valentine
EntryPoint: Swing Your Partner! Square Dancing in Virginia
12PM-1:00PM
Virtual
Join Encyclopedia Virginia managing editor Patti Miller, traditional dance historian Phil Jamison, and McEver Dugan of RVA Square Dance to learn how square dancing came to Virginia, why dances like the Virginia Reel flourished here, and how a new generation is discovering community and connection through square dancing.
Registration is required for this free, virtual event.
In coordination with Virginia Humanities, Lieutenant Governor Ghazala Hashmi has launched the inaugural Virginia Student Poetry Contest.
The competition invites elementary, middle, and high school students from across the Commonwealth to showcase their creativity, celebrate Virginia’s rich identity, and share their unique voices through poetry. The competition underscores the power of language to bring communities together while honoring the Commonwealth’s natural beauty, diverse people, and enduring heritage. Entries will be accepted until November 16, 2026.
