Abstract
In 1857, Alexina Morrison sued her master James White in the Jefferson Parish courts in Louisiana. She claimed to have been kidnapped from Arkansas and illegally enslaved by James White. Historians have argued that Morrison's case is representative of antebellum racial ideology and argue that it exemplifies the complexities in racial identification of the time. This thesis will acknowledge and build upon these conclusions, and seek to fit the case into the specific historical context of the period. Through an analysis of New Orleans as a city, and through the comparison of Morrison's case to that of Sally Miller and Abby Guy, this work seeks to provide a deeper analysis to the current historiography. The multicultural history of Louisiana provided flexible channels to freedom by slaves, as the structures of race and power were malleable. Examining the specifics of these three freedom suits simultaneously, adds another level of interpretation to the historiography.
Advisor
Sene, Ibra
Department
History
Recommended Citation
Malone, Roderick D., ""That She is of White Blood and Free and Entitled to Her Freedom:" Examining the Louisiana State Supreme Court Case of Morrison v. White from 1857-1862" (2016). Senior Independent Study Theses. Paper 7351.
https://openworks.wooster.edu/independentstudy/7351
Disciplines
Cultural History | History of Gender | Legal | Women's History
Keywords
Freedom Suits, Racial Identification
Publication Date
2016
Degree Granted
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type
Senior Independent Study Thesis
© Copyright 2016 Roderick D. Malone