A Question of Freedom
The Families Who Challenged Slavery from the Nation’s Founding to the Civil War

This is a fascinating examination of how enslaved people used our country’s courts (particularly in MD and DC) to advance the fight for freedom, both in individual cases and in the hopes of setting broad precedent. A fair warning: this is a two bookmark book! While many of the notes are citations of......more

This book landed on my radar because it's written by historian William G. Thomas, brother of my husband's law partner Sandy Thomas, who is the global managing partner for Reed Smith LLP. It's a tremendous work of scholarship. It is also a story well told with plenty of plot twists. The meticulous re......more

A complex story of the meaning of freedom in the 19th century, one that shifted its contours depending on time, place, and the courtroom in which freedom suits were heard. Initially successful, the suits freed early petitioners, including multiple generations in some families, such as the Butlers, w......more

The author details the freedom suits that were filed by numerous slaves in Maryland and also details ones in DC and some in Alexandria, Virginia. He also reveals how his family history is associated with these freedom suits. I really enjoyed the chapters where he talked about meeting descendants of......more