Property, Citizenship, and Patents: Recognition for Black Innovation in the 1800s
Introduction
In America, the 1800s are often characterized as a period of progress and expansion. As a newly independent nation, the United States faced a series of military conflicts and rapid economic growth that created a wartime demand for technological advancement, bringing about the Industrial Revolution. Notable inventors such as Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell made groundbreaking discoveries and became celebrated as the faces of innovation. However, while society pushed them to the forefront, they sidelined the genius of Black inventors that were making their own revolutionary discoveries. Legal barriers made it difficult for Black inventors to secure patents and protect their ideas. Nevertheless, some fought to defy these barriers, and their inventions made history.
What is a Patent?
In contemporary U.S. law, a patent can be defined as an exclusive legal right that grants its holder the ability to prevent others from making, using, importing or selling their patented invention for a limited time. While there are various forms of patents, the most commonly issued are utility patents, design patents, and plant patents. Utility patents cover processes, machines, and products. Design patents cover ornamental designs, and plant patents protect new plant mutations and hybrids.
For something to be considered patentable, it must:
Fall within the standard set in Diamond v. Chakrabarty, 447 U.S. 303 (1980), excluding laws of nature, physical phenomena, and abstract ideas
Be useful and substantial
Not be known, used by others or sold for more than a year before the application date
Not be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art of the invention
Be so well described that a skilled person could make or use it without unnecessary experimentation
Early Patent Law
In the U.S., the first Patent Act was signed into law in 1790; however, it has been revised numerous times throughout history. The Patent Acts of 1793 and 1836 restricted Black Americans from obtaining patents by requiring applicants to be U.S. citizens, a status that was inconsistently recognized for free Black Americans and categorically denied to enslaved Black Americans. Then, in 1857, through the Supreme Court’s decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford, the Court ruled that no person of African descent, whether free or enslaved, could be considered a U.S. citizen. Similarly, Slave Codes barred Black Americans from having any property rights, including intellectual property. As a result, some slave owners applied for patents to claim credit for inventions created by enslaved individuals. For example, in the same year as the Dred Scott decision, Oscar J.E. Stewart attempted to patent an invention developed by his enslaved worker, Ned, who created a double cotton scraper. After his application was denied, Stewart submitted a letter requesting an amendment of the Patent Act that would permit slave owners to patent inventions created by enslaved people. Although his letter was ignored, Stewart was still able to manufacture Ned’s cotton scraper without patent protection, amassing significant wealth for himself.
The First Black U.S. Patent
The first Black man granted a U.S. patent was Thomas L. Jennings, a tailor, entrepreneur, inventor, and abolitionist. Born free in New York City, Jennings had the opportunity to learn the tailoring trade and eventually operate his own business. Dissatisfied with the traditional, harsh techniques used to clean clothes, he created the “dry scouring method.” It cleaned clothing without damage from water soaking through the fibers. Jennings applied for a patent as his status as a free man enabled him to do so. He applied for his patent in 1820 and, despite racial prejudice and initial hesitation, it was eventually granted on March 3, 1821.
Jennings’ receipt of a patent was significant for the Black community both legally and socially. For years, Black Americans were thought to be too intellectually inferior to present original technological work. Jennings defied such stereotypes and became immensely successful, creating what we now know as the dry-cleaning process. His invention made him famous in New York, and he used his newfound recognition to promote racial equality. Jennings went on to secure his wife’s freedom, participate in the National Convention of the People of Color, and founded philanthropic organizations. He also contributed to the publication of the Freedom’s Journal, the first African American-owned and operated newspaper in the U.S.
Highlighting Black Women Inventors
While male inventors often have their achievements recognized, women tend to become unsung heroes. One of the first Black women to receive a U.S. patent was Sarah E. Goode. While some of the circumstances surrounding her childhood have been lost to time, historians believe that Goode was born into slavery. After receiving her freedom towards the end of the Civil War, Goode became an entrepreneur and opened a furniture store alongside her carpenter husband. Goode recognized that many of her working-class customers lived in small apartments and did not have space for large furniture, including beds. As a solution, she designed a “folding bed,” that could be converted into a roll-top desk with ample storage. Goode received a patent for her invention on July 14, 1885. While little is known about the rest of Goode’s life, her invention was historical, inspiring what we now know as the Murphy bed.
Preserving Black Inventions
Another notable figure in the history of Black innovation is Henry Edwin Baker. While not an inventor himself, Baker played a critical role in documenting the achievements of African American inventors. He compiled a list of African American patent holders throughout U.S. history, and over time, his record amassed hundreds of entries and served as a powerful testimony of the contributions made by Black inventors. A lawyer and patent examiner at the U.S. Patent Office, Baker collected his entries after reaching out to all 12,000 patent attorneys in the U.S. at the time. The Patent Office did not collect demographic data, so he decided to create his own. While the research was difficult, it was rewarding and received recognition from U.S. Representative George Washington Murray, an inventor and the only Black member of Congress at the time. Murray read Baker’s list of 92 patented inventions into the Congressional Record on the House floor. As the only Black Congressman, Murray’s choice to read Baker’s list was a form of activism, and it served as his own way of ensuring that the ideas and innovations of Black Americans were recognized and properly established as part of the nation’s historical record.
Conclusion
The history of patent law in the United States reveals a story of progress and innovation but also exclusion. While the nineteenth century is often depicted as an era of progress, that progress was not evenly distributed. Black inventors faced structural barriers that denied them recognition and ownership of their ideas. Figures such as Thomas L. Jennings and Sarah E. Goode demonstrate that, despite legal and social limitations, Black Americans continued to create and innovate in ways that helped shape American life. Additionally, the work of people like Henry Edwin Baker and Rep. George Washington Murray illustrates that preserving these contributions is equally as important as creating them. By recording the work of Black patent holders, they challenged a narrative that sought to erase their labor and intelligence. Recognizing these figures today is important, not only to recreate the historical narrative, but to acknowledge the diversity that was always present within American innovation.
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