Case
Charlotte Dupuy's petition to stay in the District temporarily was granted, but her writ for freedom was denied. Clay's attorney showed that her mother had been freed after Charlotte was born, which did not affect her status as a slave. Her case was taken seriously for, according to a letter by Henry Clay, Dupuy stayed in DC "upwards of 18 months" after he left for Kentucky, awaiting the results of the trial. During these 18 months, Clay described her as acting as "her own mistress". Dupuy worked for wages for the succeeding Secretary of State, Martin Van Buren, who also lived at Decatur House. The letter shows that Dupuy never willingly left DC. On the first page, Clay mused, "How shall I now get her ...?" He approved of his agent's having Dupuy arrested when she refused to return to Kentucky.
Although Dupuy was fighting for her freedom, the courts, in order to hear her case, had to assume her status as a free negro or a free person of color, since enslaved people had no legal standing in the courts. Such actions began to create political space for slaves' freedom. The Court determined that the agreement between Dupuy and Condon was not applicable to any new ownership, and rejected her claim against Clay.
Read more about this topic: Charlotte Dupuy
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