A clasic treatment of the laws that affected blacks in Virginia. It illustrates the importance of knowledge of the law in doing historical or genealogical research. "Black Laws of Virginia" was originally published in 1936 this book deals exclusively with the status of the Virginia Negro, bond and free, as tracted through the laws, resolutions and ordinances of the Virginia Assembly beginning with the earliest records and coming down to the present [1936], with the addition of a few pertinent sections from Virginia constitutions.The content of _Black Laws_ is organized chronologically within generally thematic chapters. The chapter headings are as follows:1. The Struggle for Racial Integrity, 1630-19322. Servants and Slaves in the Sixteen Hundreds, 1623-16913. Slaves and Servants in the Seventeen Hundreds, 1701-17984. Slaves in the Eighteen Hundreds, 1801-18665. Free Persons of Color and Slaves, 1670-18826. Taxes, Civil Rights and Duties of Negroes and Others, 1623-19307. Criminal Law and the Negro, 1692-19288. The Development of Free Compulsory Education for Negroes and Whites, 1631-19369. War and the Negro, 1723-192810. Abolition and Emancipation, 1776-1870