According to Catharine Sedgwick, Elizabeth Freeman once said, “Any time, any time while I was a slave, if one minute's freedom had been offered to me and I had been told I must die at the end of that minute I would have taken it–just to stand one minute on God's airth a free woman–I would." Freeman was born into slavery, but in 1781, she successfully argued that slavery was unconstitutional under the Massachusetts Constitution of 1780, which states, “All men are born free and equal, and have certain natural, essential, and unalienable rights.” Her court case set a precedent that helped lead to the end of slavery in Massachusetts.
Creator:
Susan Anne Livingston Ridley Sedgwick
Date Created:
1811
Materials and Measurements:
Miniature portrait, watercolor on ivory Portrait: 7.5 cm x 5.5 cm; in gilded wood frame (visible in large digital image): 13 cm x 9.7 cm
Object Identifier #:
Artwork 03.147
Alt Text:
A framed portrait of a Black woman wearing a blue dress with drawstrings at the neck and waist, a white fichu tucked into her dress at the neck, a white cap, and a gold beaded necklace.
According to Catharine Sedgwick, Elizabeth Freeman once said, “Any time, any time while I was a slave, if one minute's freedom had been offered to me and I had been told I must die at the end of that minute I would have taken it–just to stand one minute on God's airth a free woman–I would." Freeman was born into slavery, but in 1781, she successfully argued that slavery was unconstitutional under the Massachusetts Constitution of 1780, which states, “All men are born free and equal, and have certain natural, essential, and unalienable rights.” Her court case set a precedent that helped lead to the end of slavery in Massachusetts.
Creator:
Susan Anne Livingston Ridley Sedgwick
Date Created:
1811
Materials and Measurements:
Miniature portrait, watercolor on ivory Portrait: 7.5 cm x 5.5 cm; in gilded wood frame (visible in large digital image): 13 cm x 9.7 cm
Object Identifier #:
Artwork 03.147
Alt Text:
A framed portrait of a Black woman wearing a blue dress with drawstrings at the neck and waist, a white fichu tucked into her dress at the neck, a white cap, and a gold beaded necklace.