Freedom Suits and the Abolition of Slavery in MA
March 4 @ 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Afternoon Enrichment for Adults with Dr. Anna Suryani:
“Freedom Suits and the Abolition of Slavery in Massachusetts in the 1780s”
One of the earliest states to abolish slavery was Massachusetts, which prohibited the institution from 1783. This came about when two enslaved individuals, Elizabeth Freeman and Quock Walker, and their lawyers, were successful in challenging their enslavement before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, based on the 1780 Massachusetts Constitution, which promised “unalienable rights” and “liberty” to all. These lawsuits also built on earlier freedom suits in Massachusetts, including twenty-one filed in Essex County alone between 1765 and 1783.
About Dr. Anna Suryani: Dr. Suranyi is a Professor of History at Endicott College. Her research interests lie in the history of the Atlantic world, focusing on the culture of ordinary people during the early modern period (1450-1789). Her current research investigates the lives of indentured servants in the seventeenth-century British colonies.
Afternoon Enrichment Series • Included with general museum admission • Ages: Adults • Registration not required