On April 13, 1827, the Michigan Territory passed a law requiring all African-American people in Michigan to register at county clerk offices. If they did not meet requirements for residency, they were required to leave the territory.
The law was formally known as “An Act to Regulate Blacks and Mulattoes, and to Punish the Kidnapping of Such Persons” and claimed to offer protections to black residents against being apprehended and kidnapped as runaway slaves. Under the law, black people were guaranteed access to the court if that were to happen.
However, the promised protection came at a steep price. Unlike their white neighbors, black residents were forced under the law to register with the county and to provide papers proving their freedom. Within 20 days of moving into Michigan Territory, they were required to pay a $500 bond, to register with the county court and to prove their “good behavior” and means of support. It also made it illegal for anyone, black or white, to help slaves escape to freedom.
It appears that the law was only loosely enforced. There’s only record of one person being prosecuted under it. In October of 1827, a black man in Washtenaw County was banished from the town of Scio for non-compliance.
The following year, the act was amended to create civil penalties for non-enforcement of the law. Even so, many places throughout the Michigan Territory continue to be lax in their enforcement. In Wayne County, Sheriff Thomas Sheldon published a “Notice to Blacks and Mulattoes” that outlined provisions of the law, but it continued to be largely ignored.
As the Civil War drew closer, and Michigan entered the union as a free state, sentiment against slavery grew. Michigan would play a considerable role in the Underground Railroad that helped thousands of former slaves escape to freedom. Even so, it would take decades more for Michigan laws to reflect the equality of all of its residents.
Source : Official Blog of the Michigan House Democrats, April 13, 2015