[ENSLAVEMENT & ABOLITION]. A pair of Georgia documents related to the selling of alcohol to African Americans. 1845, 1865.

Partly printed liquor license issued to Thomas Cunningham and Son. Decatur County, GA, 10 December 1845. 12 1/2 x 7 in. (chipping and toning to edges). Signed and witnessed.
First section declares: "I do solemnly swear, That I will not, during the next succeeding twelve months, barter, give away, sell or furnish, to any slave or slaves, any measure or quantity of distilled or spiritous or intoxicating liquors, without the verbal or written consent of the owners or employers of such slave or slaves, or without the consent of the guardian of any free persons of color; and I do further swear, that I will not allow any other person to do so for my by approbation, consent or knowledge, so help me God."

Manuscript jury decision issuing a guilty verdict against defendant Jesse Owens for "the offense of Furnishing a Free person of color with spirituous liquors." Upson County, GA, 1865. 12 1/2 x 7 3/4 in. (creasing, some separations and chipping, toning/staining). Docketed verso. A list of "Petit Jurors" is tipped in, bearing case title: "The State vs. Jesse L. Owen[s]" and the crime: "Selling a free Person of Color Spiritus [sic] Liquor" on front and sentence: "pay fine of Fifty Dollars & all costs & be confined in the common jail of this county for ten days..."

An interesting pair of documents representing multiple angles of the same Georgia law and providing proof of the lingering probations against selling liquor to all African Americans in Georgia right up until the collapse of the Confederacy.