The summary execution of negroes, did not, however, become a serious evil previous to the Civil War. So long as the negroes were valuable as slaves it was a direct economic loss to the slaves-holder if any able-bodied slaves were put to death. In general it was only in cases of real or supposed conspiracy or insurrection that negroes were killed in a summary manner. There was of course a regular slaughter in such cases as Nat Turner's rebellion, when scores of negroes, innocent or guilty, were hunted down and killed.¹⁰

No record of cases during this period is attempted for the reason well stated in Gilbert Stevenson:

A greater reason for the futility of discussion of race distinctions before 1865 is that prior to that date the Negro was considered to have no rights which the white man was bound to respect. The Dred Scott decision in 1857 virtually held that a slave was not a citizen or capable of becoming one.¹¹

THE RECONSTRUCTION PERIOD

Neither Slavery nor involuntary servitude, save as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution

These two new additions to the Federal Bill of Rights covered most of the questions concerning civil liberty during