In Matter of Denison – Michigan Territory, 1807 (unpublished); State v. Lasselle – Indiana, 1820 (1 Blackford 60)
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| "[Holding that persons who wee slaves in Michigan prior to 1796 remained slaves] brings the existence of slavery in the Territory of Michigan to as early and to as favorable a Close as perhaps the imperfections necessarily attached to all human measures will allow to be expected." -Judge Augustus Woodward, in Denison "[I]t cannot be assumed that the constitution ... would guarantee to one part of the community such privileges as would totally defeat and destroy privileges and rights guaranteed to another. From these premises it follows, as an irresistible conclusion, that ... slavery can have no existence in the State of Indiana." -Justice James Scott, in Lasselle |
EMPIRE OF LAWS - The Legal History of the 50 American States > 5. MIDWEST LEGAL HISTORY > 5.1. The Midwest, 1780-1820: The Frontier Era > 5.1.1. The Midwest, 1780-1820: Black Codes in the Early Midwest >