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13 Tex. Wesleyan L. Rev. 645 (2006-2007)
The Profound Influence in America of Lord Mansfield's Decision in Somerset v. Stuart

handle is hein.journals/twlr13 and id is 653 raw text is: THE PROFOUND INFLUENCE IN AMERICA OF LORD MANSFIELD'S DECISION IN SOMERSET V. STUART Alfred W. Blumrosent I. INTRODUCTION .......................................... 645 II. THE DIRECT IMPACT OF SOMERSET IN THE COLONIES: 1772-1773 ............................................... 647 III. BOSTON TEA PARTY AND THE FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESS DECLARES INDEPENDENCE FROM PARLIAMENT: 1773-1774 ................................ 648 IV. SLAVERY AND THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE: 1776 ..................................................... 648 V. SOMERSET REJECTED IN ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION: 1777-1781 ................... ........................... 649 VI. THE SOUTHERN DEFENSE OF SLAVERY IN THE TERRITORY ACQUIRED FROM BRITAIN: 1784-1787 ..... 651 VII. SOMERSET ACCEPTED AS CONSTITUTIONAL COMPROMISE IN NORTHWEST ORDINANCE OF 1787 ..... 651 VIII. THE SOLDIERS OF THE NORTHWEST ORDINANCE ASSURE THE END OF SLAVERY IN THE CIVIL WAR AND THEIR DESCENDANTS ASSURE THE ADOPTION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964 . 655 IX. REFLECTIONS ON HISTORY .............................. 657 I. INTRODUCTION Lord Mansfield's influence on slavery in America began on June 22, 1772, when he decided the case that freed James Somerset and de- clared slavery so odious that it could not be enforced in Britain by sending a slave out of the country against his will. It continues into the present through work such as the University of Michigan's suc- cessful defense of affirmative action before our Supreme Court.' My focus today is on six episodes showing the influence of Mansfield's decision in Somerset v. Stuart in America. The initial episode took place in August and September 1772 when news of his decision reached the colonies. James Somerset had been t Thomas A. Cowan Professor Emeritus, Rutgers Law School, NJ, USA. Copy- right, Alfred W. Blumrosen, 2006. Biography at http://law.newark.rutgers.edu/blum- rosen.html. This article is based on Alfred W. Blumrosen and Ruth G. Blumrosen, SLAVE NATION: How SLAVERY UNITED THE COLONIES AND SPARKED THE AMERI- CAN REVOLUTION, (Sourcebooks, Inc., Naperville, Illinois (2005), hereafter cited as SN. This article relies on SLAVE NATION for detailed and more nuanced references. Available through Amazon, Barnes and Noble. Reviews on slavenation.us. Ruth died shortly before this book was published. It was a work of love between us. 1. See Grutter v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 306 (2003). 645 645

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