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Full-Text Articles in Legal History

Fulton V. Lewis: The Case Of An Immigrant Slave's Petition For Freedom During The War Of 1812, Silvio Morales Jan 2012

Fulton V. Lewis: The Case Of An Immigrant Slave's Petition For Freedom During The War Of 1812, Silvio Morales

Student Articles and Papers

In 1815 the Maryland Court of Appeals did something that by the early 1800’s had become uncommon. The court granted a slave his freedom in the case of Fulton v. Lewis, 3H. & J. 564 (1815) The slave was John Lewis, a native of the island of Saint Domingo, present-day Haiti, who was imported into Maryland after the Maryland General Assembly enacted a law prohibiting the importation of slaves into Maryland.

To understand why Lewis was granted his freedom this essay explores the case by placing it in its historical context, and by reviewing certain Maryland laws regarding slavery …


A Monetary Misunderstanding: Smith V. Gilmore And Baltimore's Place In Turn Of The 19th Century Globalization, John P. Gates Jan 2012

A Monetary Misunderstanding: Smith V. Gilmore And Baltimore's Place In Turn Of The 19th Century Globalization, John P. Gates

Student Articles and Papers

As the young United States entered the 19th century, the City of Baltimore had become a major center of America’s international commerce. Baltimore had quickly risen from a relatively small town on the Chesapeake Bay to the home of the country's third busiest trading port and one of its fastest growing cities in less than two decades.

The case of Smith v. Gilmor (M.D. 1816), a lawsuit between two prominent Baltimore merchants, was emblematic of the early days of globalization and the confusion this clash of cultures caused in the world of international trade. The controversy in this case …


Stewart V. Mcintosh, 4 H. & J. 233 (1816), Rhett Donnelly Jan 2012

Stewart V. Mcintosh, 4 H. & J. 233 (1816), Rhett Donnelly

Student Articles and Papers

Stewart v. M’Intosh was argued during the time period of the Jay Treaty, the Quasi-War, the Haitian Revolution, and the War of 1812. The facts begin at the end of the 18th century and extend into the early 19th century. The arguments and ruling were based on trade restrictions between United States citizens and territories under French control. The plaintiffs focused their arguments on the specific language of the Congressional acts, which outlawed trade with French territories but did not directly mention the regions at issue, while the defendants looked at the implications of the acts and the …