Barred slavery	1789	Statute	Slavery and involuntary servitude were outlawed in the Michigan territory, other than for the punishment of a crime. Enslaved persons who had escaped could be lawfully reclaimed and conveyed to the person claiming his or her labor.
Certificates of freedom	1833	Statute	Blacks or mulattos desiring to settle in Michigan were required to produce a certificate of freedom issued by a court within the United States.
Fugitive slaves	1833	Statute	Persons claiming a black or mulatto in the State as their property were to apply to any justice of the county court. After the application was filed, a sheriff or constable was to arrest such black or mulatto and deliver the person to the claimant.
Free blacks	1833	Statute	Blacks or mulattos emigrating into the State were to post a $500 bond within 20 days after their arrival to guarantee their good behavior or to pay for their support if unable to do so. Persons who failed to comply with the statute were to be removed immediately in the same manner as required in the case of paupers.
Free blacks	1833	Statute	Persons found guilty of counseling blacks contrary to the above statute were to be fined $100, and they were to be liable for the support of such black if they were unable to provide for themselves.
Kidnapping	1833	Statute	Persons found guilty of seizing, detaining, and attempting to kidnap free blacks from the State were to be sentenced to hard labor in the penitentiary for between one and ten years.
Kidnapping	1838	Statute	Persons who unlawfully sold or transferred, for any term of service, the labor of a black, mulatto, or other person of color and kidnapped them from the State of Michigan were to be punished by imprisonment in the State prison up to ten years, or by a fine of up to $1,000, or both.
Fugitive slaves	1855	Statute	Passed "personal liberty" law prohibiting State officials from aiding in the enforcement of the fugitive slave laws of 1793 and 1850.
Miscegenation	1857	Statute	No white person shall intermarry with a black, "and no insane person or idiot shall be capable of contracting marriage."
Fugitive slaves	1857	Statute	No person arrested as a fugitive slave was to be imprisoned. Those who jailed such a person were subject to a fine of between $500 and $1,000. Any person who falsely declared that a free person was a slave, or assisted in procuring the forcible removal of such free person from Michigan was to be imprisoned between three and five years in the State prison. Persons who wrongfully seized any free person with the intent to enslave him were to pay a fine of between $500 and $1,000 and be imprisoned for five years in the State prison.
Kidnapping	1857	Statute	Any person who sold the service or labor of any black, mulatto, or other person of color and unlawfully kidnapped them from the State of Michigan was to be imprisoned.