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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Collection Reference Number | GLC09087 |
| From Archive Folder | Documents Relating to 1859 |
| Title | The Quarterly Law Journal, vol IV, No 3, [163] - 202. |
| Date | July 1859 |
| Document Type | Pamphlet |
| Content Description | Circuit court case of United States v. Amy, re: slave stealing letter written by her master. Arrested under Section 22 of the Act of Congress which provides that "Any person shall steal a letter from the mail, the offender shall, upon conviction, be imprisoned not less than two years..." The defense held that the word "person" as used in the Constitution of the United States to describe a citizen, did not apply to a slave, as defined in the Dred Scott Decision of 1857, and asked for a motion to dismiss. Although the judge hearing both cases was Roger B. Taney, chief justice of the Supreme Court (serving here as circuit court judge), he declined to uphold his own precedent. |
| Subjects | Dred Scott US Constitution Law Supreme Court Women's History Slavery Post Office African American History Slave Life |
| People | Taney, Roger Brooke (1777-1864) |
| Place written | Richmond, Virginia |
| Theme | Law; Government & Politics; Slavery & Abolition; African Americans; Women in American History |
| Sub-collection | The Gilder Lehrman Collection, 1493-1859 |
| Copyright | The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History |
| Module | Settlement, Commerce, Revolution and Reform: 1493-1859 |