Also known as: September 24 Decree (1791), Decree of September 24, 1791, Law of 24 September 1791
Last updated: April 26, 2026
Under the influence of Antoine Barnave, the Constituent Assembly passed the decree of September 24, 1791, handing colonial assemblies authority over the political status of free people of color and the enslaved, effectively reversing the limited opening of the May 15 decree. Colonial elites invoked the decree to justify blocking racial equality in Saint-Domingue, making it one of the clearest examples of how constitutional language was weaponized to preserve racial hierarchy. It sits as the legal bridge between the Ogé aftermath and the April 4, 1792 decree that finally reversed the reversal.
Obtained the decree giving colonial assemblies exclusive authority over status of free people of color and the enslaved
The decree arrived in the colony during the same autumn 1791 crisis as the concordats
The April 1792 decree reversed this decree's restoration of colonial white authority
The decree applied to Saint-Domingue and its effect was felt there immediately
The decree stripped fragile protections for the political status of free people of color
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"Decree of 24 September 1791." 1791. Rasin.ai, 2026. https://rasin.ai/connections/events/decree-of-24-september-1791. Accessed 2026-05-05.