USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -The Thirteenth Amendment emancipated enslaved people, who were thus no longer considered chattel. The Civil Rights Act of 1866 defined the rights of free people to own, sell, or lease personal and real property, enter into contracts, and be entitled to fundamental human rights. They could also marry.

Detailed explanation-2: -The superintendent’s office advised freedmen of the act of Congress of July 25, 1866 (14 Stat. 236), which stipulated that “all color persons” in the District who recognized each other as man and wife prior to the law were now legally married and their children legitimate.

Detailed explanation-3: -Historically, family reunions date back to the Emancipation, when formerly enslaved people sought out the family they were separated from while enslaved. This tradition would become something that would be a continuous celebration of kinship and resilience that Black families endured.

Detailed explanation-4: -Not all enslaved people were allowed to make their own decisions about who to mate with and marry, as Henry and Nancy did. Men and women could be forced to live as husband and wife against their wills, which provoked a range of emotions.