First Advisor

Patricia Schechter

Date of Award

5-22-2020

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in History and University Honors

Department

History

Language

English

Subjects

United States. Fugitive slave law (1793), United States. Fugitive slave law (1850), Fugitive slaves -- United States, Antislavery movements -- United States -- History -- 19th century, Abolitionists, Underground Railroad

DOI

10.15760/honors.920

Abstract

Rosetta Armstead was a sixteen year old enslaved girl who in March of 1855 was being transported through the state of Ohio on her way to Kentucky, where she was to become the nurse to her owner’s infant child. While overnighting in Columbus she came to the attention of local abolitionists and her case was brought in front of the Ohio courts. Her whirlwind case challenged the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 as well as the authority of the federal government when her freedom was granted by the power of Ohio’s state courts. Her case highlights key issues in the 1850’s political crisis around slavery and states rights which would eventually ignite the Civil War. The fracture points around power, and the tensions between North and South, federal and state authority, were all brought up in the contentious decision which freed Rosetta from bondage.

Rights

In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/33181

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