*On this date in 1851, we celebrate Strader v. Graham, 51 U.S. 82 court verdict.
This United States Supreme Court decision held that the status of three slaves who went from Kentucky to Indiana and Ohio depended on Kentucky law rather than Ohio law. The original plaintiff was Christopher Graham, whose three slaves had traveled to Cincinnati, Ohio, aboard a steamboat owned by Jacob Strader and James Gorman and piloted by John Armstrong. The slaves later escaped to Canada.
The U.S. Supreme Court recognized the authority of the Northwest Ordinance of 1789 over its applicable territories in Strader v. Graham. Still, it did not extend the Northwest Ordinance to cover respective states later admitted to the Union. This case laid the groundwork for the 1857 Dred Scott case.
