Padrone Act of 1874

{{Short description|United States Act}}

{{Infobox U.S. legislation

| shorttitle = Padrone Act of 1874

| othershorttitles =

| longtitle = An Act to protect persons of foreign birth against forcible constraint or involuntary servitude.

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| enacted by = 43rd

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| effective date = June 23, 1874

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| cite public law = {{uspl|43|464}}

| cite statutes at large = {{usstat|18|251}}

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| title amended = 18 U.S.C.: Crimes and Criminal Procedure

| sections created = {{Usc-title-chap|18|77}} §§ 1581–1588

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| introducedin = House

| introducedbill = {{USBill|43|H.R.|3581}}

| introducedby = John Cessna (R-PA)

| introduceddate = June 1, 1874

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| passedbody1 = House

| passeddate1 = June 1, 1874

| passedvote1 = Passed{{cite journal |url=https://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llhj&fileName=074/llhj074.db&recNum=1081 |date=June 1, 1874 |title=H.R. 3581 ~ U.S. House of Representatives Concurrence by Unanimous Consent |journal=Journal of the House of Representatives of the United States, 43rd U.S. Congress, 1st Session |series=First Session: December 1, 1873 to June 23, 1874 (253 days, held in Washington) |volume=LXXIV |issue=Monday, June 1, 1874 |publisher=United States Government Printing Office |page=1082}}

| passedbody2 = Senate

| passedas2 =

| passeddate2 = June 22, 1874

| passedvote2 = Passed{{cite journal |url=https://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llsj&fileName=069/llsj069.db&recNum=867 |date=June 22, 1874 |title=H.R. 3581 ~ U.S. Senate Concurrence by Unanimous Consent |journal=Journal of the Senate of the United States, 43rd U.S. Congress, 1st session |series=First Session: December 1, 1873 to June 23, 1874 (253 days, held in Washington) |issue=Monday, June 22, 1874 |publisher=United States Government Printing Office |page=869}}

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| signedpresident = Ulysses S. Grant

| signeddate = June 23, 1874

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Padrone Act of 1874 (18 Stat. 251) was authorized by the 43rd United States Congress and enacted into law in the United States on June 23, 1874. The Act of Congress was a response to the exploitation of immigrant children dependent on forced begging which criminalized the practice of enslaving, buying, selling, or holding any person in involuntary servitude.

According to the US Department of State brochures and resources on human trafficking and slavery, the 1874 statute is recognized being a milestone legal force as regards to the vulnerabilities of human chattel condition and law of the United States.[https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/201606.pdf US Dept of State - Faces of Modern Slavery] In sum, the law was an anti-slavery law and the first human trafficking law criminalizing the slavery, buying and selling of Italians and Sicilians.

In the chronology of slavery, the University of Houston shows that in 1874 Congress enacted the Padrone statute "to prevent the practice of enslaving, buying, selling, or using Italian children" as street musicians and urchins.[https://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/era.cfm?eraID=6&smtID=4 Chronology of Human Trafficking and Slavery]

1948 Federal criminal law is amended to enact 18 U.S.C. §§ 1581–1588, which ban peonage and involuntary servitude. The amendments are a consolidation of the 1874 Padrone Statute (formerly 18 U.S.C. § 446 (1940 ed.)) and the 1808 Slave Trade statute, as amended in 1909 (18 U.S.C. § 423 (1940 ed.)).[https://cap-press.com/pdf/9781422489031.pdf Padrone Act - Human Trafficking Laws Expanded]

In the 1870s, according to the New York Times article "Slavery in New York", Aug. 21, 1873, the New York Times addresses Italian and Sicilian slavery that exists in 1873. This is referenced in the US Department of Labor resources.[https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2017/article/history-of-child-labor-in-the-united-states-part-1.htm New York Times - Slavery in New York in 1873]