 In the Matter of Elizabeth Denison, James Denison, Scipio Denison, and Peter Denison, Jr. (1807) |
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Elizabeth, James, Scipio, and Peter Denison Jr. filed a writ of habeas corpus, seeking their freedom from Catherine Tucker based on the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 which prohibited slavery in the Northwest Territory. Their enslaver claimed ownership based on Jay's Treaty, which allowed settlers of this territory to hold property of any kind, including enslaved people. While the courts eventually decided in favor of Tucker, the Denisons escaped into Canada, taking advantage of a doctrine that there was no obligation to give up fugitives from a foreign jurisdiction. They eventually returned to Michigan Territory and lived as freedmen.
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| Indenture of John Johnson (1817) |
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Following his successful petition for freedom, John Johnson entered into a contract of indenture for four years in exchange for the $150 loan Johnson secured over the course of obtaining his freedom.
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| Indian Trade and Intercourse Act of 1790 |
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The Trade and Intercourse Acts had important economic and political implications in the Early Republic. A key feature of the legislation was the recognition of tribal sovereignty and legal jurisdiction.
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| Indian Trade and Intercourse Act of 1796 |
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The Indian Trade and Intercourse Act had important economic, legal and political implications in the Early Republic. A key feature of the legislation was the recognition of tribal sovereignty and legal jurisdiction.
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| John Johnson v. Sosthene Allain (1816) |
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John Johnson filed a petition for freedom in a New Orleans court, asserting that although born free in New York, he had been illegally sold into slavery and was now being held on a sugar plantation. Johnson and his attorneys invoked New York's gradual abolition laws to establish his free status. The Louisiana court ruled in his favor and Johnson claimed his freedom.
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| Judiciary Act of 1789 |
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This act established a federal judiciary of District, Circuit, and Supreme Courts separate from individual state courts. Portions of the Judiciary Act was overturned by the 1803 Supreme Court decision in Marbury v. Madison, which declared Section 13 of the act unconstitutional because it conflicted with Article III of the U.S. Constitution.
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| Letter from Dorinda to Hamilton R. Gamble (1827) |
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Dorinda, "a free woman of color," wrote to her attorney in the midst of her freedom suit to tell him that her enslaver had violated the court's order not to remove her from the court's jurisdiction and planned to "keep me out of your reach if possible."
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| Louisiana Purchase Treaty (1803) |
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The Louisiana Purchase Treaty reflected United States ambitions toward empire, while ignoring critical issues regarding the incorporation of Native nations.
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| Marbury v. Madison (1803) |
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This landmark Supreme Court decision established the principle of judicial review, giving the courts the right to determine the constitutionality of the actions of the other two branches of government.
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| Martin v. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts (1805) |
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The Martin case set precedent that women were the same legal person as their husbands. The case itself was brought by James Martin in an attempt to recover his Loyalist mother's property which had been confiscated by the post-Revolutionary government of Massachusetts when she and her husband fled during the war. The court in this case ruled that because Anna Martin had not intended to forfeit her land but had been forced to leave with her husband as required by the marital law of coverture, her property could not be confiscated.
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| Matilda v. Isaac Vanbibber (1815) |
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Matilda was a Black girl, aged twelve or thirteen, who was brought into Indiana Territory and later forcibly removed to Missouri Territory and sold as a slave. In her petition for freedom, Matilda argued that she earned her freedom while in Indiana Territory by virtue of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 which banned slavery in the new territories.
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| Milly v. Mathias Rose (1819) |
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In this freedom suit, Milly sued for her freedom on behalf of herself and her two children Eliza and Bob. Milly argued that she should be free on account of being held in slavery in the free Illinois Territory.
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| Mima Queen & Louisa Queen v. John Hepburn (1813) |
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This unsuccessful freedom suit reflects the legal challenges to slavery and hinged on the Supreme Court's decision that hearsay about family genealogy could not be used as evidence, setting later precedent. Mina (spelled Mima in the court record) Queen petitioned for her freedom and that of her daughter on the grounds that her great grandmother Mary Queen was a free woman of color. When the lower court disallowed critical testimony about Mary Queen's origins and status, Queen appealed the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court on a writ of error, arguing that hearsay testimony should be allowed in a petition for freedom case. The Supreme Court denied the appeal, upholding the lower court's ruling.
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| Missouri Compromise (1820) |
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The Missouri Compromise admitted Missouri into the Union as a slave state and Maine as a free state. The compromise also suggested that slavery be prohibited north of the 36°30' latitude, which was followed until the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854.
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| Monroe Doctrine (1823) |
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In an address before Congress, President James Monroe warned European powers not to interfere in the affairs of the Western Hemisphere. The United States continued to invoke the Monroe Doctrine in its foreign policy through to today.
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| Naturalization Act of 1790 |
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The Naturalization Act of 1790 had important legal and political implications in the Early Republic. An emerging racial hierarchy was reflected in the determinations of who was allowed to become a citizen. The act specified that any free white person who had resided in the U.S. for two years could be admitted to become a citizen, provided they were a "person of good character" according to a court of law.
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| Naturalization Act of 1798 |
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This is one of four acts known collectively as the Alien and Sedition Acts. These acts were passed by a Federalist-controlled Congress applied restrictions to immigration and speech in the U.S. They were highly controversial and contributed to the Federalist defeat in the election of 1800. The Naturalization Act increased the residency requirement for citizenship from 5 to 15 years and the notice time from 3 to 5 years. While passed with the aim of protecting national security, it also decreased the number of new citizens and voters who disagreed with the Federalists.
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| New Jersey Disfranchisement Statute (1807) |
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This New Jersey statute explicitly banned women and free people from color from voting, after these groups had been enfranchised since 1776. When New Jersey rewrote its constitution in 1844, it explicitly denied women and African Americans the right to vote.
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| New Jersey Franchise Statute (1797) |
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This New Jersey statute explicitly added women to their voting laws, while also allowing free people of color to vote. When New Jersey rewrote its constitution in 1844, it explicitly denied women and African Americans the right to vote.
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| Northwest Ordinance (1787) |
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The Northwest Ordinance had important legal and political implications during the Early Republic. A key feature of the legislation was the recognition of tribal sovereignty and legal jurisdiction.
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| Peter and others v. Susanna Elliott and Rachell Elliott (1787) |
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This freedom suit was brought forth by 22 enslaved people who were freed by a deed of manumission that was then contested by the executrixes of the former enslaver upon his death. The court found in favor of the re-enslavement of Peter and the other 21 freedmen.
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| President Thomas Jefferson's Confidential Message to Congress (1803) |
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Jefferson's statement showed government interest in tribal removal, land appropriation, and eventual dispossession.
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| Regulated Slave Trade Act (1788) |
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This act, also known as Dolben's Act, placed limits and regulations on the slave trade, and illustrates the attempts to regulate the numbers of children in the slave trade.
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| Sedition Act (1798) |
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This is one of four acts known collectively as the Alien and Sedition Acts. These acts were passed by a Federalist-controlled Congress applied restrictions to immigration and speech in the U.S. They were highly controversial and contributed to the Federalist defeat in the election of 1800. After 1802, only the Alien Enemies Act remained in force, and has continued to be invoked during times of war. The Sedition Act made it illegal to print "false, scandalous and malicious writing" against the U.S. government. It was used to suppress speech critical of the Federalist Party.
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| She's Been Her Own Mistress: The Long History of Charlotte Dupee v. Henry Clay, 1790-1840 (2020) |
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This essay refocuses the story of Charlotte Dupee v. Henry Clay on Charlotte herself, detailing her long struggle navigating the strategies and pathways to freedom.
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