Letter from the Attorney General to Secretary of the Interior Regarding Patent Applications by Slaves

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Description

U.S. Attorney General J. S. Black sent this letter to Secretary of the Interior J. Thompson regarding patent applications by enslaved people. He wrote “I think… that a machine invented by a slave, though it be new and useful, cannot in the present state of the law, be patented.” He added “…if such a patent were issued to the Master, it would not protect him in the Courts against persons who might infringe it.”

Transcript

(Copy)
Attorney General’s Office
June 10th 1858

Sir
I fully concur with the Commissioner of Patents in the opinion he has given on the application of W. O. J. E. Stewart of Mississippi. For the reasons given by the Commissioner, I think as he does, that a machine invented by a slave, though it be new and useful, cannot in the present state of the law, be patented. I may add that, if such a patent were issued to the Master, it would not protect him in the courts against persons who might infringe it.

Very respectfully,
Yours
J. S. Black

Hon. J. Thompson
Secty of the Interior.

Citation

This primary source comes from the Records of the U.S. Senate.

National Archives Identifier: 5927863

Full Citation: Letter from U.S. Attorney General the Honorable J. S. Black to the Honorable J. Thompson, Secretary of the Interior, Regarding Patent Applications by Slaves; 6/20/1858; (SEN 36A-H11); Committee Papers, 1837 – 1946; Records of the U.S. Senate, Record Group 46; National Archives Building, Washington, DC. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/document/attorney-general-patent-applications-slaves/, August 24, 2026]

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