Louis napoleon fugitive slave
Fugitive slave definition!
New York courts honor historic anti-slavery Lemmon case ruling on precipice of Civil War
NEW CITY – It was 1852.
Louis napoleon fugitive slave
New York was considered a "free state," with laws that explicitly said an enslaved person brought here, even for temporary transit, would be freed. But federal laws made clear that Northern states had to abide by Southern "property" and help return slaves who tried to flee to freedom.
So when the Lemmon family of Virginia sailed into New York Harbor on their circuitous route to Texas, an effort to secure freedom for eight enslaved people they brought with them grabbed a nation's attention.
The Lemmon Slave Case became key legal precedent and well as moral touchstone as the nation approached Civil War.
A special exhibit, put together by the Historical Society of the New York Courts, is now on display at the Rockland County Courthouse through Jan.
23. It includes a video display narrated by James Earl Jones. The display then heads to Newburgh City Court from Jan. 24