 Albert Wiley v. Moses Keokuk |
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The habeas corpus petition of Moses Keokuk shows legal challenges to Indigenous sovereignty in the late nineteenth century.
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| Alice McKay v. John Kevan and Della Kevan |
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The habeas corpus petition of Alice McKay shows legal challenges related to child custody in the nineteenth century. In this case, a mother petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus after placing one of her children with a charitable organization to receive medical care and custody of the child was eventually given to a married couple. Before a court order was made in the case, the mother abducted the child from the married couple's home. Custody of the child was awarded by the court to the married couple.
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| Ann v. Henry Hight |
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Ann was a Black woman indentured by a man who took her from Maryland to Illinois and finally into Missouri, contrary to an Illinois law that required the consent of the servant if they were taken beyond the state's borders. Upon her employer's death, the executor of his estate, Henry Hight, claimed her as a slave for life. Ann petitioned for her freedom in a Missouri court and won.
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| Ann Williams, Ann Maria Williams, Tobias Williams, & John Williams v. George Miller & George Miller Jr. |
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This successful freedom suit, brought by Ann Williams and based on importation bans, showed legal challenges to slavery in Washington, D.C.
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| Applegate v. Luke |
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After the Phillips County Chancery Court struck down Arkansas' Alien Land Act of 1925 as unconstitutional, Attorney General H. W. Applegate appealed the case to the Arkansas Supreme Court. Justice T. H. Humphreys upheld the lower court's ruling, arguing that the alien land law violated Section 20 of the the Declaration of Rights in the State Constitution.
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| Arch v. Barnabas Harris |
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This freedom suit illustrates how enslaved people presented a fundamental issue in the legal system. The central question in Arch's case was a question between personal liberty, enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, versus a right to personal property, also enshrined in the Declaration.
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| Aspisa v. Hardage Lane |
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In this freedom suit, Aspisa sued for her freedom, arguing that her mother's residence in the free Northwest Territory before being taken to St. Louis where Aspisa was born entitled her to her freedom. Aspisa had filed previously against former enslavers including Joseph Rosati, the first Bishop of Saint Louis. A jury decided in favor of Aspisa's freedom in 1839, however, in a subsequent trial, the court determined her status was enslaved.
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| Baker v. Nelson |
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Baker v. Nelson was first same-sex marriage case to be reviewed by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal from the Minnesota Supreme Court, stating that the case did not bring forward "a substantial federal question." This case reflects the lack of thought given to LGBTQ+ rights in 1972.
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| Charles Mahoney v. John Ashton |
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This freedom suit was based on the claim that the petitioner was descended from a free Black woman who was an indentured servant when she arrived in colonial Maryland from England. Mahoney's attorneys invoked the Somerset principle, 18th century British case law, and even the Declaration of Independence to secure his freedom, but after three jury trials, Mahoney remained enslaved.
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| Charlotte Dupee, Charles, & Mary Ann v. Henry Clay |
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In this freedom suit, Charlotte Dupee sought to claim freedom for herself and her children from Henry Clay, the outgoing Secretary of State and leading Whig Senator from Kentucky. While the courts did find in her favor, Charlotte continued to resist her enslavement until she and her daughter Mary Ann were ultimately manumitted 1840.
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| Clark v. Board of School Directors |
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In this case, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that the segregation of students based on race was unconstitutional. It was the first and only 19th century court to overturn school segregation.
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| Coger v. The North Western Union Packet Co. |
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In this case, the Iowa Supreme Court held that a steamboat company's removal of a Black woman from its dining table violated her constitutional right of equality under Iowa's constitution, relying heavily on the Court's earlier decision in Clark v. Board of School Directors. This case came nearly 100 years before the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States that upheld Title II of the newly passed Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited discrimination in public accommodations.
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| Commonwealth of Virginia v. Quander |
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Newspaper coverage from the Alexandria Gazette in 1874, reporting on the court cases of Felix and Julia Quander. The married couple were charged with resisting the efforts of Fairfax County constables executing a warrant for the seizure of cattle belonging to the Quanders. Felix, Julia, and their four children were all arrested, brought before a justice, and bailed for further examination. Two months later, Felix and Julia's cases were brought before the Fairfax County Court, where Julia was found not guilty of assault and battery, and Felix was fined $10.
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| Criminal Docket, Sweetwater County Rock Springs Precinct, September 1885 |
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A Coroner’s Inquest investigated the murders of Chinese mine workers in Rock Springs, Wyoming Territory, in September 1885. While 16 white miners were arrested for participation in the massacre, no one was ever held legally responsible.
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| Dow v. United States |
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In Dow v. United States, the Court of Appeals ruled that people from Southwest Asia could be considered white and were eligible for citizenship. This decision came seven years before the Supreme Court ruled that migrants from Japan and India were not white enough to be eligible for citizenship.
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| Edward Gantt v. Thomas Baldwin |
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This case centers on the whereabouts of a mixed race woman named Fanny who was enslaved by Edward Gantt. Gantt claimed that while aboard a steamboat captained by Thomas Baldwin, Fanny went missing. Gantt brought an action in trover against Baldwin to recover the monetary value of Fanny, $1,500. Witnesses deposed on behalf of Baldwin claimed that no such woman was ever on board, and also described the people of color who worked on the boat as well as those enslaved by passengers.
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| Elihu Schooner v. State of Missouri |
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When Elihu Schooner was arrested as a fugitive from slavery, he petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus. Born free in Ohio, upon hearing the facts of the case, Schooner was released by the court.
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| Elizabeth Bird v. Frances Pattmore |
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The habeas corpus petition of Elizabeth Bird shows legal challenges related to child custody in the nineteenth century. In this case, Bird argued that she was made the legal guardian of Missouri Bird, a ten year old child, by the child's mother, and claimed that Missouri was being confined to the house of Frances Pattmore. Pattmore responded that Missouri's presence in her house was of her own free will. The court awarded custody of Missouri to Pattmore.
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| George Quander versus the Law |
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George Quander was the nephew of Felix Quander. Like his uncle, George had run-ins with Fairfax County officials, culminating in 1908, when he was shot and killed by a deputy sheriff serving a warrant. The Alexandria Gazette is unsympathetic in its coverage of George Quander's encounters with the court, its officers, and the racist white citizens of Fairfax County.
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| In re Halladjian et al. |
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In this case, a Massachusetts circuit court ruled that people from West Asia were so intermixed with Europeans that the Armenian plaintiffs should be considered white and admitted to U.S. citizenship.
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| In the Matter of Elizabeth Denison, James Denison, Scipio Denison, and Peter Denison, Jr. |
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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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| In the Matter of Hannah and Biddy and their children on Petition for Habeas Corpus |
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In the decision in this case, a California judge ruled that Biddy Mason and her three children, as well as a woman named Hannah and her nine children and grandchildren, were "free forever" after their enslaver brought them into the free state of California to reside.
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| In the Matter of Julia alias Mary Ann on Habeas Corpus |
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In 1834, Julia successfully filed a freedom suit in St. Louis. Two years later, her mother, having secured her own freedom, petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus on behalf of Julia, claiming that she was still being held by her former enslavers. When Julia was presented to the court, the writ was discharged, the court "being satisfied that she is contented with her situation, and does not wish to exchange it."
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| In the Matter of Ralph on Habeas Corpus |
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Ralph was an enslaved Black man who made an agreement with his Missouri enslaver to purchase his freedom. In order to earn the sum, Ralph was permitted to move to Dubuque in order to work in the lead mines. When he failed to pay the money after several years, his enslaver came to Dubuque with the intention of taking Ralph back to Missouri. Ralph appeared before the Court on a writ of habeas corpus, where the Court found that as slavery was prohibited in Iowa Territory, he was entitled to his freedom. This case was the first case heard by the Supreme Court of Iowa.
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| In the Matter of the Application of Agnes Smith for a Writ of Habeas Corpus |
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The habeas corpus petition of Agnes Smith shows legal challenges on the part of women in the early twentieth century from carceral confinement. After she was committed to an institute for "feeble-minded youth," Agnes' parents attempted to regain custody of her. The court denied the writ, claiming that Agnes was a "fit and proper subject" for the institution.
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