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A Slave Sued For Freedom!
The remarkable tale of Elizabeth Freeman
In 1781, Elizabeth Freeman was a slave known as Mum Bett who lived in Massachusetts. During this time, the country was in the throes of revolution, and perhaps this inspired her. Just as the American colonies wanted freedom from Britain, so Bett also wanted freedom from oppression.
She lived in the house of Colonel John Ashley, who was a Yale-educated lawyer. It was in his house that the Sheffield Declaration was drawn up. It was approved by the Town of Sheffield, Massachusetts and published in 1773. The document was considered to be the state’s constitution.
While listening to discussions at the Ashley house, Bett must have overheard the first Article of this document:
All men are born free and equal, and have certain natural, essential, and unalienable rights; among which may be reckoned the right of enjoying and defending their lives and liberties; that of acquiring, possessing, and protecting property; in fine, that of seeking and obtaining their safety and happiness.
Just because Bett was illiterate did not mean she was stupid. She knew what she had heard. She’d also always had a strong sense of her own worth.
When her mistress, Hannah Ashley, tried to strike a servant girl with a heated shovel, Bett…
