Today's history lesson: The Negro Act

The comprehensive Negro Act of 1740 passed in South Carolina made it illegal for slaves to move abroad, assemble in groups, raise food, earn money, and learn to read English. Additionally, owners were permitted to kill rebellious slaves if necessary. This version of the Act was adopted in the state of Georgia in 1755 and was called the Slave Code.

Taken from Wikipedia - Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.