eeds
but read in the journal of the legislature the number of petitions
praying that some action be taken to provide for the safety of the
people in the commonwealth.[20] In the Valley and in the extreme
western portion of the State where few slaves were found and where
there were still persons who did not welcome the institution, there
were held a number of meetings in which the abolition of slavery was
openly discussed and urged. Such memorials, however, did not
constitute the majority of the petitions requiring action with
reference to slavery. More meetings were held in the eastern counties
but opinion there differed so widely that they availed little in
working out a constructive plan. The larger number of these took the
form of such an improvement and change in the black code as to
preserve the institution and at the same time secure the safety of the
citizens.[21]

Believing that the free people of color had been or would be the most
effective means in the attack on the institution of slavery, there
were more memorials for the removal of this class of the population
than any other petitions bearing on slavery. Among the counties
praying for the removal of the free Negroes, were Amelia, Isle of
Wight, York, Nansemond, Frederick, Powhatan, Fairfax, and
Northumberland. Others asked for the removal of the free Negroes[22]
and furthermore the purchase of slaves to be deported. Among the
counties praying for such a measure were Fauquier, Hanover,
Washington, Nelson, Loudoun, Prince William, and King William. From
Charles City, Rockbridge, and Caroline Counties came the additional
request for a legislation providing for gradual emancipation. Page,
Augusta, Fauquier, and Botetourt, sent memorials praying that steps be
taken to procure an amendment to the Constitution of the United
States, investing Congress with the power to appropriate money for
sending beyond the limits of the United States the free people of
color and such of the slaves as might be purchased for the same
purpose. This was almost in keeping with the request from the Henrico
and Frederick Colonization Societies asking the Government to deport
the Negroes to Africa. Buckingham County requested that the colored
population be removed from the county and colonized according to the
plans set forth by Thomas Jefferson. The request of the Society of
Friends in the county of Charles City for gradual emancipation,
however, caused resentment.[23]

Thinking th