State v. Mann

    

 Some of the other students in class argued the Supreme Court case of State v John Mann, as each side. The case was that of a North Carolina slave owner and his slave. Lydia was John Mann’s slave. Mann shot Lydia in the back, and was being charged with contributory negligence and assault and battery. The court ruledthat slaves had no rights from their masters. Thomas Ruffin

authored the opinion of the court, in which he asserted the “full dominion of the owner over the slave.”’ My classmates made arguments of ethics, despite her being a slave, she was human, so physically assaulting her should have punishments. Others used arguments of History referencing John Locke’s belief that slaves are property due to the investment of time and money put in by the owner. Although Mann was just renting Lydia, he did have the same rights as an owner. Lydia also was running away, which was against the law.

    From this class experiment, we were able to learn about this specific case deeply, as well as explore polarizing views of civil rights laws during the time. This case occurred in 1829, even before the civil war. Being able to see my classmates present a case was not only informative, but also interesting. I feel that they really covered the seven modes of argumentation. This activity was a great way to put to practice many of the things we have been learning in class, as well as display our knowledgeability on newly learned topics and ability to present them.

Sources:

Notes taken from presentations

Website design and web development by Mango Web Design mangowebdesign.com. “State v. Mann.” North Carolina History Project, 16 Mar. 2016, northcarolinahistory.org/encyclopedia/state-v-mann/.