The south wanted the common lands to be enjoyed by whites and their slaves. The idea that the southern leaders promoted free access by free blacks is ridiculous. All southern states had laws at one time or another prohibiting free blacks from entering the state, some had constitutional clauses limiting the ability to free those slaves that were in the state, and one (Virginia) had a clause in their constitution stating that any slave freed had 12 months to leave the state entirely or else be sold back into slavery.