Elizabeth Freeman: Women’s History Month, Part 4
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Elizabeth Freeman, also known as Mum Bett, escaped slavery in a way that was unusual: she took her case to court. She approached lawyer Theodore Sedgewick with this question: "I heard that paper read yesterday that says 'all men are born equal,' and that every man has a right to freedom ... won't the law give me my freedom?" Appealing to her natural rights and her rights under the Massachusetts Constitution of 1780, she sued for her freedom and won.
Script for Elizabeth Freeman: Women’s History Month, Part 4
[INTRO MUSIC]
Some enslaved women, like Ona Judge, Martha Washington's former servant, managed to escape slavery by runnning away.
Elizabeth Freeman was a rare exception.
She took her case to court.
In 1773, Mum Bett, as she was known in those days, was held in slavery by Colonel John Ashley of Sheffield, Massachusetts.
Ashley was one of the drafters of the Sheffield Declaration, which said that "mankind in a state of nature are equal, free, and independent of each other, and have a right to the undisturbed enjoyment of their lives, their liberty and property."
Similar language could later be found in the Massachusetts Constitution of 1780.
Mum Bett had courage and tenacity.
She approached one of the men who helped draft the declaration, a lawyer named Theodore Sedgwick, and asked, "I heard that paper read yesterday that says 'all men are born equal,' and that every man has a right to freedom ... won't the law give me my freedom?"
Sedgwick agreed to take her case to court, where Mum Bett and another enslaved member of the household won their case, 30 shillings in damages, and their freedom, in 1781.
Mum Bett afterward changed her name to Elizabeth Freeman.
This has been 60-Second Civics, a podcast of the Center for Civic Education.
I’m Mark Gage.
[OUTTRO MUSIC]
Copyright Center for Civic Education.
