What was the 20 negro law?

Answer 1

The Confederate Congress in the fall of 1862 passed a law exempting one white man for every twenty slaves on the plantation. it was enacted partly because of the long standing fear of slave revolt and prevented slaves from running away. Additionally, it was believed that women were incapable of running a plantation due to their femininity and higher Christian values. in other words it was believed that women would be to soft on the slaves. It was a so-called Overseer Exemption, or the Twenty Negro Law. This measure was exceedingly unpopular among the non-slave holders in the South. There was a lot of protest and alienation and disaffection with the south against this law. Source:C-Span Abraham Lincoln