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Elizabeth Freeman (c. 1742 – December 28, 1829), in early life known as Bett and later Mum Bett, was among the first black slaves in Massachusetts to file a "freedom suit" and win in court under the 1780 constitution, with a ruling that slavery was illegal. Her county court case, Brom and Bett v. Ashley, decided in August 1781, was cited as a precedent in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court appellate review of Quock Walker's "freedom suit". When the state Supreme Court upheld Walker's freedom under the constitution, the ruling was considered to have implicitly ended slavery in the state. ==Biography and trial== Freeman was illiterate and left no written records of her life. Her early history has been pieced together from the writings of contemporaries to whom she told her story or who heard it indirectly, as well as from historical records. Freeman was born into slavery about 1742 at the farm of Pieter Hogeboom in Claverack, New York, where she was given the name Bett. When Hogeboom's daughter Hannah married John Ashley of Sheffield, Massachusetts, Hogeboom gave Bett, then in her early teens, to Hannah and her husband. Freeman remained with them until 1781, during which time she had a child, Betsy. She is said to have married, though no marriage record has been located. Her husband (name unknown) is said to have never returned from service in the Revolutionary War. Throughout her life, Bett exhibited a strong spirit and sense of self. She came into conflict with Hannah Ashley, who was raised in the strict Dutch culture of the New York colony. In 1780, Bett prevented Hannah from striking her daughter Betsy〔Note: Some versions of this event have the target of Hannah's wrath being Bett's sister Lizzie (see Segdwick, 1853), but no known historical record of such a person exists (see Piper and Levinson, 2010).〕 with a heated shovel; Elizabeth shielded her daughter and received a deep wound in her arm. As the wound healed, Bett left it uncovered as evidence of her harsh treatment.〔 Catharine Maria Sedgwick quotes Elizabeth saying, "Madam never again laid her hand on Lizzy (). I had a bad arm all winter, but Madam had the worst of it. I never covered the wound, and when people said to me, before Madam, "Betty, what ails your arm?" I only answered - 'ask missis!' Which was the slave and which was the real misses?"〔 John Ashley was a Yale-educated lawyer, wealthy landowner, businessman and leader in the community. His house was the site of many political discussions and the probable location of the signing of the Sheffield Resolves, which predated the Declaration of Independence. Soon after the Revolutionary War, Freeman heard the newly adopted Massachusetts Constitution read at a public gathering in Sheffield, including the following:〔 Inspired by these words, Bett sought the counsel of Theodore Sedgwick, a young abolition-minded lawyer, to help her sue for freedom in court. She told him, "I heard that paper read yesterday, that says, all men are created equal, and that every man has a right to freedom. I'm not a dumb critter; won't the law give me my freedom?"〔 Sedgwick willingly accepted her case, as well as that of Brom, another of Ashley's slaves. He enlisted the aid of Tapping Reeve, the founder of one of America's earliest law schools, located at Litchfield, Connecticut. The case of ''Brom and Bett v. Ashley'' was heard in August 1781 before the County Court of Common Pleas in Great Barrington. Sedgwick and Reeve asserted that the constitutional provision that "all men are born free and equal" effectively abolished slavery in the state. When the jury ruled in Bett's favor, she became the first African-American woman to be set free under the Massachusetts state constitution. The jury found that "...Brom & Bett are not, nor were they at the time of the purchase of the original writ the legal Negro of the said John Ashley..."〔(Transcript of Case No. 1, ''Brom & Bett vs. John Ashley Esq.'' ), Book 4A, p 55 Inferior Court of Common Pleas, Berkshire County, Great Barrington, MA, 1781, transcribed by Brady Barrows at Berkshire County Courthouse, 1998.〕 The court assessed damages of thirty shillings and awarded both plaintiffs compensation for their labor. After the ruling, Bett took the name Elizabeth Freeman. Although Ashley asked her to return to his house and work for wages, she chose to work in attorney Sedgwick's household. She worked for his family until 1808 as senior servant and governess to the Sedgwick children, who called her "Mum Bett". The Sedgwick children included Catharine Sedgwick, who became a well-known author and wrote an account of her governess's life. Also working at the Sedgwick household during much of this time was Agrippa Hull, a free black man who had served for years during the Revolutionary War.〔(Gary B. Nash, "Agrippa Hull" revolutionary patriot" ), Black Past, 2008, accessed 12 March 2012〕 From the time Freeman gained her freedom, she became widely recognized and in demand for her skills as a healer, midwife and nurse. After the Sedgwick children were grown, Freeman and her daughter bought and moved into their own house in Stockbridge. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Elizabeth Freeman」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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