(SLAVERY AND ABOLITON) WILLIAMSON PASSMORE United States ex

Sale 2171 - Lot 98

Price Realized: $ 360

?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price

Estimate: $ 400 - $ 600

A LANDMARK CASE (SLAVERY AND ABOLITON.) WILLIAMSON, PASSMORE. United States ex rel. John H. Wheeler vs Passmore Williamson [in] The American Law Register. October, 1855. Tall 8vo, original printed wrappers; very slight wear. Philadelphia, 1855

Set Alert for Similar Items

Additional Details

A detailed report of one the most notable court cases regarding slavery in the 19th century. Passmore Williamson was accused of causing the escape of Jane and her two children while traveling with their master John Wheeler, the U.S. minister to Nicaragua. Wheeler was waiting in the port of Philadelphia for a boat to take him to New York when a group of free blacks, led by Williamson came on board and caused a disturbance. In the confusion, Jane and her children escaped. Wheeler accused Williamson of coercing Jane, while witnesses said that she left the boat voluntarily. Williamson spent nearly a year in prison while the case was under way. The case was finally decided in Williamson''s favor. The legal issues involved were serious, and came into play in later cases involving slaves on free soil. Not recorded by Finkelman, Slavery in the Courtroom. Scarce, OCLC locating only one complete run of the American Law Register.