'The Law, and Not Conscience, Constitutes the Rule of Action': The South Bend Fugitive Slave Case and the Value of 'Justice Delayed'

Finkelman, Paul

Abstract

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'The Law, and Not Conscience, Constitutes the Rule of Action': The South Bend Fugitive Slave Case and the Value of 'Justice Delayed'

Paul Finkelman

Albany Law School - Government Law Center

1992

THE CONSTITUTION, LAW AND AMERICAN LIFE: CRITIAL ASPECTS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY EXPERIENCE, Donald G. Nieman, ed., pp. 23-51, University of Georgia Press, 1992

Abstract:
In this article, Professor Finkelman discusses the South Bend Fugitive Slave case, an unusual example of northern resistance to the return of fugitive slaves: the slaves were peacefully released by a state judge after two hearings into their status rather than a dramatic rescue as there was in other cases of the day. However, Finkelman suggests that the case provides a useful framework for examining a variety of antebellum legal and social issues.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 29

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Date posted: January 11, 2010

Suggested Citation

Finkelman, Paul, 'The Law, and Not Conscience, Constitutes the Rule of Action': The South Bend Fugitive Slave Case and the Value of 'Justice Delayed' (1992). THE CONSTITUTION, LAW AND AMERICAN LIFE: CRITIAL ASPECTS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY EXPERIENCE, Donald G. Nieman, ed., pp. 23-51, University of Georgia Press, 1992. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1533497

Contact Information

Paul Finkelman (Contact Author)

Albany Law School - Government Law Center ( email )

80 New Scotland Avenue
Albany, NY 12208
United States