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Cardozo Law Review

Abstract

In 1836, Leonard Wideman bought a slave named Charles from Jonathan Johnson, paying in part with a $100 note. Not long after, Johnson sued Wideman in the Circuit Court of Abbeville, South Carolina for failing to pay his note. In defense, Wideman argued that he should not have to pay Charles's price because Johnson had fraudulently represented Charles to be sober, honest, and humble, when, in fact, he was insubordinate, vicious, a drunkard, and a runaway. The trial turned not only on Charles's character, but also on the character of his masters: Johnson, Wideman, and others who had previously owned Charles. Johnson argued that Wideman himself was responsible for Charles's character and the circuit judge agreed. The judge's instructions to the jury warned that Charles's so-called vices "were easy of correction by prudent masters, and it was only with the imprudent that they were allowed to injure the slave. Like master like man [is] ... too often the case, in drunkenness, impudence, and idleness."

Keywords

Commercial Law, Slavery, Race and Ethnicity Issues, Government (General)

Disciplines

Commercial Law | Law | Law and Race

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