Students will learn how Elizabeth Freeman played a critical role in the fight to end slavery in the United States.
00:00:00 Elizabeth Freeman played a critical role in the fight to end slavery in the United States. Elizabeth was born into slavery around 1744. When she was very young, she and her sister were sent to Sheffield, Massachusetts to work
00:00:25 as domestic servants for Hannah and John Ashley. Elisabeth's life with the Ashleys was far from easy. She did all the hard labor necessary to keep the home running. Hannah was violent, she once hit Elizabeth with a hot coal shovel; scarring her for life. In 1765, Elizabeth gave birth to a baby girl. She
00:00:50 named her daughter Elizabeth. Little Elizabeth was also enslaved by the Ashley family. John Ashley became a prominent Patriot during the American revolution. He frequently met with other Patriots to discuss the revolutionary ideals of Liberty and equality for all. Like many enslaved people in the colonies, Elizabeth wondered whether these ideals applied to her.
00:01:15 In the summer of 1780, Elizabeth attended a reading of the new Massachusetts State Constitution. The first article read "All men are born free and equal." Elizabeth knew it was time to fight for her freedom. She asked lawyer Theodore Sedgwick to represent her in court. Theodore worried that focusing the case on a single woman wouldn't
00:01:40 work, because women did not have many rights under the new government. So he added Brom, an enslaved man from the Ashley household, to the case. In court Theodore argued that because of the State Constitution stated that all men were "born free and equal", enslaving Elizabeth and Brahm was unconstitutional. The court agreed and granted Elizabeth and Brom their freedom. Elizabeth's case
00:02:05 was used as a precedent for the total abolition of slavery in Massachusetts in 1783.To celebrate her new status Elizabeth took the last name, Freeman and accepted a paid job as a domestic servant for Theodore Sedgwick. Elizabeth used her earnings to buy her own home and land, where she lived with her daughter until she died in 1828. Elisabeth's intelligence and determination won a
00:02:30 crucial victory in the fight to end slavery in the new United States of America.
Students will learn how Elizabeth Freeman played a critical role in the fight to end slavery in the United States.
00:00:00 Elizabeth Freeman played a critical role in the fight to end slavery in the United States. Elizabeth was born into slavery around 1744. When she was very young, she and her sister were sent to Sheffield, Massachusetts to work
00:00:25 as domestic servants for Hannah and John Ashley. Elisabeth's life with the Ashleys was far from easy. She did all the hard labor necessary to keep the home running. Hannah was violent, she once hit Elizabeth with a hot coal shovel; scarring her for life. In 1765, Elizabeth gave birth to a baby girl. She
00:00:50 named her daughter Elizabeth. Little Elizabeth was also enslaved by the Ashley family. John Ashley became a prominent Patriot during the American revolution. He frequently met with other Patriots to discuss the revolutionary ideals of Liberty and equality for all. Like many enslaved people in the colonies, Elizabeth wondered whether these ideals applied to her.
00:01:15 In the summer of 1780, Elizabeth attended a reading of the new Massachusetts State Constitution. The first article read "All men are born free and equal." Elizabeth knew it was time to fight for her freedom. She asked lawyer Theodore Sedgwick to represent her in court. Theodore worried that focusing the case on a single woman wouldn't
00:01:40 work, because women did not have many rights under the new government. So he added Brom, an enslaved man from the Ashley household, to the case. In court Theodore argued that because of the State Constitution stated that all men were "born free and equal", enslaving Elizabeth and Brahm was unconstitutional. The court agreed and granted Elizabeth and Brom their freedom. Elizabeth's case
00:02:05 was used as a precedent for the total abolition of slavery in Massachusetts in 1783.To celebrate her new status Elizabeth took the last name, Freeman and accepted a paid job as a domestic servant for Theodore Sedgwick. Elizabeth used her earnings to buy her own home and land, where she lived with her daughter until she died in 1828. Elisabeth's intelligence and determination won a
00:02:30 crucial victory in the fight to end slavery in the new United States of America.