Neither Fugitive Nor Free

Download or read book Neither Fugitive Nor Free written by Edlie L. Wong and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2009-07 with total page 347 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Studies lawsuits to gain freedom for slaves on the grounds of their having traveled to free territory, starting with Somerset v. Stewart (England, 1772), Commonwealth v. Aves (Massachussetts, 1836), Dred Scott v. Sanford, and cases brought questioning the legitimacy of Negro Seamen Acts in the antebellum coastal South. These lawsuits and accounts of them are compared to fugitive slave narratives to shed light on both. The differing impact of freedom obtained from such suits for men and women (women could claim that their children were free, once they were judged free) is examined.