page_title: History of African Americans in Utah
section_title: Utah slavery and arrival of Latter-day Saint pioneers (1847-1862)
hierarchical_section_title: History of African Americans in Utah / Utah slavery and arrival of Latter-day Saint pioneers (1847-1862)
caption_attribution_description: English: Photograph of Jane Elizabeth Manning James
context_page_description: The first African Americans to arrive in Utah were fur trappers in the early 19th century. The second influx consisted of both freedmen who were converts to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and slaves belonging to white converts. Later, most African American immigrants to Utah would migrate out for labor-related motivations. African Americans have traditionally been composed only a small part of the total population in Utah, with the 2010 census placing the percentage of African Americans at 1.06%. Utah ranks 40th in the United States for total African American population and 43rd in percentage of residents who are African American.
context_section_description: On July 22, 1847, pioneers from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, led by Brigham Young, entered the Salt Lake Valley, fleeing Missouri and Illinois due to intense persecution. By the end of 1847, there were 12 African Americans living in the Salt Lake Valley, among them 8 slaves (including Oscar Crosby and Hark Lay), and a family of four free African Americans (Isaac and Jane Manning James family). Green Flake, who had also arrived with the initial pioneer company, had gone with a group of pioneers to help others traveling across the plains.
  By 1848 there were approximately 50 African Americans living in the Utah Territory after another pioneer company had arrived. 24 were slaves who had traveled from Mississippi led by John Brown, and they were joined by 12 other African Americans, mostly slaves, when they passed through Winter Quarters in Nebraska.
  In the 1850 US census, there were 50 "colored" people living in the Utah Territory, constituting 0.4% of the total territorial population.
  In the Compromise of 1850, the United States Congress established Utah as a slavery territory, officially legalizing slavery in the Utah territory.
  In 1852, the Utah Legislature, with input from the prophet and territorial governor Brigham Young, established the Act in Relation to Service, which established a legal precedent for slavery in the territory (both for African Americans and Native Americans). These laws both protected the rights and proper treatment of the slaves while also legitimizing slavery and the slaves' duty to their masters. For example, it required that slaves be protected from unwilling transfer and sexual exploitation and be given proper treatment and schooling. On the other hand, slaves were required to submit dutifully to their masters' wishes and to punishment when necessary.
  Under Utah territorial law (before the Reconstruction Amendments were passed), African Americans could not vote, serve on juries, be elected to the legislature, or serve in the militia.
  On June 19, 1862, the US Congress abolished slavery in Utah and all other US territories.
caption: Jane Elizabeth Manning James, free African American and early Utah pioneer
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