List of court cases in the United States involving slavery facts for kids

The United States has a long and complex history with slavery. For many years, people were bought and sold as property, forced to work without pay, and denied basic rights. However, brave individuals and groups fought against this injustice. One important way they did this was through the courts. This article looks at some key court cases in the U.S. that dealt with slavery, showing how the law slowly changed over time. Some cases helped people gain their freedom, while others sadly upheld the system of slavery.

Important Court Cases About Slavery in the US

Early Cases for Freedom

• 1779: Brakkee v. Lovell
  • Court: Vermont Superior Court
  • What happened: Pompey Brakkee was held as a slave even after slavery became illegal in Vermont. The court ruled in his favor, and he was awarded money.

• 1781: Brom and Bett v. Ashley
  • Court: Berkshire County Court of Common Pleas (Massachusetts)
  • What happened: Two enslaved people, Brom and Bett (who later became known as Elizabeth Freeman), sued for their freedom. They argued that the Massachusetts constitution said "all men are born free and equal." The court agreed, and they were freed. This case helped set a legal example for others.

• 1781: Quock Walker v. Jennison
  • Court: Worcester County Court of Common Pleas (Massachusetts)
  • What happened: Quock Walker, an enslaved man, was found to be free. The court decided that slavery went against both the Bible and the Massachusetts Constitution.

• 1783: Commonwealth v. Jennison
  • Court: Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
  • What happened: This case further confirmed that slavery was abolished in Massachusetts. Justice William Cushing famously said that slavery was "as effectively abolished as it can be by the granting of rights and privileges wholly incompatible and repugnant to its existence."

• 1792: Guardian of Sally v. Beatty
  • Court: Supreme Court of South Carolina
  • What happened: An enslaved person owned by Beatty bought a young enslaved girl named Sally and then set her free. The court ruled that this act of kindness should not be undone.

• 1806: Hudgins v. Wright
  • Court: Virginia Supreme Court
  • What happened: Jackey Wright and her two children were freed. They proved they were descended from Native American women. Slavery of Native Americans had been against the law in Virginia since 1705.

• 1818: Harry v. Decker & Hopkins
  • Court: Supreme Court of Mississippi
  • What happened: Harry, an enslaved man, was freed. The court ruled that enslaved people living in the Northwest Territory became free, according to a law from 1787. They could also go to court to claim their rights.

• 1820: Polly v. Lasselle
  • Court: Supreme Court of Indiana
  • What happened: This ruling gave freedom to Black people in Indiana who had been enslaved in the territory before Indiana's constitution banned slavery.

Cases Upholding and Challenging Slavery

• 1830: North Carolina v. Mann
  • Court: Supreme Court of North Carolina
  • What happened: This sad ruling stated that enslavers had complete power over the people they enslaved. It meant enslavers could not be found guilty of violence against them.

• 1834: Rachel v. Walker
  • Court: Supreme Court of Missouri
  • What happened: Rachel, an enslaved woman, sued for her freedom from John Walker. She won because he had held her in Illinois, which was a free state.

• 1834: North Carolina v. Negro Will
  • Court: Supreme Court of North Carolina
  • What happened: Judge William Gaston ruled that enslaved people who killed their enslaver or overseer in self-defense could not be found guilty of murder. At most, it would be considered manslaughter. This was a small step away from the harsh North Carolina v. Mann ruling.

• 1836: Commonwealth v. Aves
  • Court: Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
  • What happened: An enslaved woman named Med was freed. The court decided that any enslaved person brought to a free state by their enslaver was automatically set free.

• 1838: Hinds v. Brazealle
  • Court: Supreme Court of Mississippi
  • What happened: This case denied freedom to a mixed-race son and his enslaved mother. They had been given a freedom document in Ohio. However, the Mississippi court said it went against Mississippi laws, which required a special act from the state government to free enslaved people.

• 1838: North Carolina v. Manuel
  • Court: Supreme Court of North Carolina
  • What happened: Judge William Gaston ruled that free Black people, including those who had once been enslaved, were citizens of North Carolina. This meant they had rights under the state constitution, like being able to declare they couldn't pay debts to avoid being imprisoned or forced to work.

• 1841: United States v. Libellants and Claimants of the Schooner Amistad
  • Court: Supreme Court of the United States
  • What happened: This famous case involved Africans who had been kidnapped and forced onto the ship Amistad. They mutinied and took control of the ship. The Supreme Court ruled that they were never legally enslaved. Therefore, they were not criminals and had the right to defend themselves. The Court ordered them to be sent back to Africa.

• 1842: Prigg v. Pennsylvania
  • Court: Supreme Court of the United States
  • What happened: This ruling overturned the conviction of Edward Prigg, who had captured an enslaved person in Pennsylvania. The Court said that federal law (which allowed for the capture of runaway enslaved people) was more powerful than state laws.

• 1851: Strader v. Graham
  • Court: Supreme Court of the United States
  • What happened: This case involved three enslaved people who traveled from Kentucky to the free states of Indiana and Ohio. The Court ruled that their status (whether they were free or enslaved) depended on Kentucky's laws, not Ohio's laws, even though Ohio had abolished slavery.

• 1852: Lemmon v. New York
  • Court: Superior Court of the City of New York
  • What happened: This case granted freedom to enslaved people who were brought into New York by their enslavers from Virginia. They were just passing through New York on their way to Texas.

• 1853: Northup v. Epps
  • What happened: This case recognized that Solomon Northup, who had been kidnapped from New York and sold into slavery in Louisiana, was a free man. His story became famous through his book, Twelve Years a Slave.

• 1853: Holmes v. Ford
  • Court: Oregon Territorial Supreme Court
  • What happened: A family of enslaved people who had been brought to Oregon from Missouri by their enslaver were granted freedom. This action went against the laws of Oregon, which did not allow slavery.

• 1857: Dred Scott v. Sandford
  • Court: Supreme Court of the United States
  • What happened: This was one of the most important and controversial court cases in U.S. history. Dred Scott, an enslaved man, sued for his freedom after living in free territories. The Supreme Court ruled that people of African descent, whether enslaved or free, were not citizens of the United States. This meant they could not sue in federal court. The Court also said that Congress could not ban slavery in U.S. territories. This ruling made tensions over slavery much worse, leading up to the Civil War.

• 1859: Ableman v. Booth
  • Court: Supreme Court of the United States
  • What happened: The Court ruled that state courts cannot make decisions that go against federal court decisions. This case overturned a ruling by the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which had said that the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 was unconstitutional.

Modern Cases Against Forced Labor

• 1985: United States vs. Sante Kimes
  • Court: U.S. District Court
  • What happened: Sante Kimes was charged with "conspiracy to violate slavery laws." She had offered to hire undocumented immigrants but then kept them as prisoners when she couldn't or wouldn't pay them. Kimes was sentenced to five years in prison for breaking federal anti-slavery laws. This shows that laws against forced labor are still in place today.

• 2021: Nestlé USA, Inc. v. Doe
  • Court: Supreme Court of the United States
  • What happened: This case involved claims that companies like Nestlé were involved in child slave labor on cocoa plantations outside the U.S. The Supreme Court ruled that the specific law being used (the Alien Tort Statute) could not be applied to the companies' actions in the U.S. because the direct harm happened in other countries. This case highlights the ongoing global fight against forced labor.

See also

• Freedom suit
• Slavery in the colonial United States
• Slavery in the United States
• Slave trade acts
• The Abolition Riot of 1836 took place in a courtroom