Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom

This Supreme Court case occurred in 1954. The ruling made it illegal for schools to be segregated along racial lines. The case was put forward by Oliver Brown, who tried to enroll his daughter in a Topeka, Kansas, school but was denied because of her skin color. Brown rallied other Black parents who had unsuccessfully enrolled their children in white-only schools and developed a case that argued that segregation of schools violates the 14th amendment of the Constitution. This case overturned the ruling of the 1896 Supreme Court hearing for Plessy v. Ferguson.

The Compromise of 1850 re-emphasized the Fugitive Slave Act and served as a catalyst for Robert Collins to pursue the recapture of William and Ellen Craft. Led by Senator Henry Clay, the compromise outlined an agreement between the northern and southern regions of the United States. California was declared a free state and banned the slave trade in the nation’s capital. However, the compromise also heavily enforced the Fugitive Slave Act and made it illegal for state authorities to refuse to participate in the recapturing of fugitives from slavery.

The Vigilant Association of Philadelphia was founded in 1837 and helped to promote the abolitionist movement. The Female Vigilant Association was highly active in helping William and Ellen. They helped to fundraise for the Crafts’ travels, as well as the escape of enslaved people in the South.

The Compromise of 1850 was impacted by the Gold Rush in California and the Forty-Niners, named after the year that California saw a rise in immigration. Concerns over slavery in the new territory spurred discussions about establishing California as a free state.

The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 was written into the Constitution. The act proposed that any enslaved laborer who escaped to a free territory could be legally recaptured and returned. The act also made it illegal to assist enslaved people in their escape.

Codified into law at the beginning of the 19th century, the one-drop rule asserted that any person with one ancestor of Black descent was legally considered Black. This rule was used to prevent marriages between races and to widen the scope of slavery. Although Ellen appeared white, she was classified under the one-drop rule as Black.

The Pearl was a ship involved in what is now called the Pearl Incident. In April 1848, just a few months before William and Ellen traveled to Philadelphia by steam ship, abolitionists assisted 77 enslaved individuals in boarding the ship to escape. The group was intercepted in Maryland, and riots over the attempted escape spread throughout Washington, DC.

This 1896 Supreme Court case responded to a challenge to segregation laws in the state of Louisiana. Homer Plessy challenged the segregation of railroad cars. The Supreme Court ruled that Louisiana segregation laws did not violate the Constitution, and the phrase “separate but equal” was born.

This 1842 case helped to codify the Fugitive Slave Act. In this case, Edward Prigg captured an escaped enslaved person in Philadelphia, where state authorities refused to assist and charged Prigg for violating state laws. The Supreme Court ruled that states must enforce the Fugitive Slave Act.

The Revolutions of 1848, also known as the Springtime of Nations or the Springtime of Peoples, describe a series of movements that took place across Europe. Political unrest, extreme poverty, and nationalist ideologies caused many groups to pursue change. Woo places William and Ellen within this historical and political context, establishing the American abolitionist movement within this series of revolutions.