People, Locations, Episodes

Commonwealth v. Aves, 35 Mass. is Decided

*On this date in 1836, Commonwealth v. Aves, 35 Mass. 193, was decided. This case was in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court regarding the transportation of slaves to free states. That year, Chief Justice Lemuel Shaw ruled that slaves brought to Massachusetts “for any temporary purpose of business or pleasure” were entitled to freedom. The case was the most important legal victory for abolitionists […]

The Slave Compensation Act Becomes Law

*The Slave Compensation Act 1837 was an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom, signed into law on December 23, 1837. Together with the Slavery Abolition Act 1833, it authorized the Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt to compensate slave owners in the British colonies of approximately £20 million for the freeing of […]

Albion Tourgee, Judge born

Albion Tourgee was born on this date in 1838. He was a White American activist, judge, and author.

Bass Reeves, U.S. Marshall born

*The birth of Bass Reeves is celebrated on this date in1838. He was a Black farmer and was one of the first African Americans to receive a commission as a Deputy U.S. Marshal west of the Mississippi River.

The Ashworth Act is Passed

*The Ashworth Act was passed on this date in 1840. The Texas Senate passed this legislation. It exempted the Ashworth Family, freedmen, and formerly enslaved people in the Republic of Texas from a new law stipulating that all Black Texans either leave or be enslaved. The Ashworths were Portuguese North Africans. They migrated from South Carolina and […]

The United States v. Schooner Amistad is Decided.

*On this date, 1841, United States v. Schooner Amistad, 40 U.S. (15 Pet.) 518 (1841), was decided.  This was a United States Supreme Court case resulting from the rebellion of Africans on board the Spanish schooner La Amistad in 1839.  It was an unusual freedom suit that involved international issues, parties, and United States law. The case was the most important court case involving slavery […]

Pierre Landry, Lawyer born

*On this date we recognize the birth of Pierre Landry, a Black editor, chef, politician, and lawyer, born in 1841.

He was the slave son of his owner, born in Donaldsonville, LA As a young boy, he lived with a local free Black couple, attended a school for free Blacks on his father/owner’s plantation, and learned the skills to become a chef. Upon the death of his owner in 1854, Landry was sold as part of a disposition of the estate. With his new owner, he served as property superintendent, pastry chef, and plantation store manager.

Prigg v. Pennsylvania is Decided

*On this date in 1842, Prigg v. Pennsylvania was decided. This was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that the federal Fugitive Slave Act (1793) precluded a Pennsylvania state law that prohibited Blacks from being taken from the free state of Pennsylvania into slavery. The Court overturned the conviction of slavecatcher Edward Prigg as a result.   Occurring under the presidency […]

Richard Greener, Legal, and Political Advisor born

*Richard Theodore Greener was born on this date in 1844. He was an African American administrator, politician, lawyer, and educator.

From Philadelphia, when Greener was about nine, his father left the family to pursue mining opportunities in California. Tragically, his father was presumed dead after efforts to locate him failed. His mother moved the family to Boston, then to Cambridge in search of educational opportunities for her son. Greener received his early education at the Broadway Grammar School until he was about 14, when he quit to support his mother.

Moorfield Storey, Lawyer, and Activist born

*Moorfield Storey was born on this date in 1845.   He was a white-American lawyer, anti-imperial activist, and civil rights leader.   Moorfield Storey was born in 1845 in Roxbury, Massachusetts. His family descended from the earliest Puritan settlers in New England and had close connections with the abolitionist movement. His father was a Boston lawyer. Young Storey attended the Boston […]

The First Black Law Practice in America Opens

*It was on this date in 1845, Macon B. Allen and Robert Morris Jr. contracted their law firm and became the first Blacks to practice law in America.

They opened their practice on May 3rd of that year in Massachusetts.

John Wesley Cromwell, Lawyer and Teacher born

*John Wesley Cromwell was born on this date in 1846. He was a Black lawyer, teacher, civil servant, journalist, historian, and activist. John Wesley Cromwell was born into slavery in Portsmouth, Virginia, the youngest of twelve children. His parents were Willis H. and Elizabeth (Carney) Cromwell. Cromwell’s father worked as a ferryman on the Elizabeth […]

Liberia Gains its Independence From America

This date in 1847 marks Independence Day in the Republic of Liberia. Liberia owes its establishment to the American Colonization Society, founded in 1816 to resettle freed American slaves in Africa.

John L. Waller, Lawyer, and Journalist born

*John L. Waller was born on this date in 1850. He was a Black lawyer, politician, journalist, publisher, businessman, military leader, and diplomat.  John Lewis Waller was born into slavery in New Madrid County, Missouri. At the end of the American Civil War, he moved with his family to a farm in Tama County, Iowa. […]

Charlotte Ray, Teacher, and Attorney born

This date marks the birth of Charlotte E. Ray in 1850. She was a Black teacher and the first Black female lawyer in the United States.