Court Commando
Andre
The legal challenges of slaves in the United States started as early as the Declaration of Independence. The Founding Fathers declared equality of all people; people knew the connotation with that statement. This meant slavery would continue from 1776 till it was abolished almost a century and a half later. This legal document was pro slavery, and no one had a problem with it. Slaves had to constantly fight for their rights knowing they didn’t have any. Not only slaves, but free blacks did not know until later that the best way to combat slavery was through the courts. A rise not too long after the American Revolution emerged; Elizabeth Freeman also known as Mum Bett heard about a new constitution saying that all men are equal, she decided to test that ideology. She ran away to a nearby town, and convinced a young lawyer to file a suit against the very idea of slavery in Massachusetts. Slaves have tried to sue their masters before, but to no avail. This case was different, because Mum Bett won the case. This set off a chain reaction in the north until the entire north became Free states. The fight was far from over, but made progress in the courts. North Carolina v. Mann was a stepping stone for the ascension of the horror of slavery. This case shows how the legal system protected slavery. The case is about a man named John Mann who shot, and wounded his slave Lydia who attempted to escape a lashing. The Supreme Court’s decision was represented by Thomas Ruffin, who stated that "the power of the master must be absolute, to render the submission of the slave perfect", but said that slaves should have legal right of protection from persons other than their owners. Ruffin, however, made it clear that his opinion was a legal one, and that his sympathy lay with Lydia. He wrote that "the struggle, too, in the Judge's own breast between the feelings of the man, and the duty of the magistrate is a severe one, presenting strong temptation to put aside such questions, if it be possible. It is useless however, to complain of things inherent in our political state. And it is criminal in a court to avoid any responsibility which the laws impose. This only goes to show how deeply embedded slavery was in the society. Slaves have absolutely no rights, they are just barely considered as people let alone citizens. Many people are familiar with the three fifths compromise. The south was very populated by slaves, but fairly small in whites, since most of the south was plantations. The South felt they were severely underrepresented in terms of electoral colleges and as result would not get as much say in the government. The North and South already on the brink of war, so to prevent that the compromised by making slaves three fifths of a citizen, for populations’ sake. They were not even considered whole people, and that said a lot about the times. Dred Scott v. Sandford was another very influential, hard hitting case. Dred Scott who was born a slave was bought by John Emerson. Scott was taken to Illinois, a free state. He was “working” there until being dragged to Fort Snelling (located in modern day Minnesota) and was essentially bringing slavery to a free state, which went against 3 government documents. By the Scotts being in a free state for an extended amount of time they would have been considered free, but did not consider suing, when traveling to Louisiana. When Emerson died and Eliza inherited the fortune, the Scotts demanded freedom and sued for it. The Supreme Justices by a vote of 7-2 denied Scotts request; on the basis that African American no matter slave or free could not be citizens, and the federal government had no judgement in federal territories. This turned heads in the North and this case became a stepping stone for the upcoming Civil War. The biggest legal struggle the African-American population at that time was the Fugitive Slave law of 1850. This law made it the federal government’s business to capture runaway slaves in all states and send them back to their masters. This law caused terror all over the place. Free African-Americans were unrightfully captured and sent into slavery on account that they could not find who they were actually looking for. According to the cases Ableman v. Booth, state courts cannot issue rulings that contradict the decisions of federal courts, in this case concerning unconstitutionality ruling of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 by Wisconsin Supreme Court. The legal battles were the only way for slaves to gain freedom, but they were helpless in a court setting because they had no rights to begin with.