Revolution 250 Podcast
The Somerset Decision - 250 years later
Professor Robert Allison (Chair, Suffolk University Department of History, Language & Global Culture) discusses the June 1772 King's Bench decision by Lord Chief Justice Mansfield in the case of Somerset v. Stewart, long heralded as the first shot fired in the long history of anti-slavery jurisprudence. Who was James Somerset? What impact did this decision have on him, on the institution of slavery, and on the British empire?
Professor Robert Allison (Chair, Suffolk University Department of History, Language & Global Culture) discusses the June 1772 King's Bench decision by Lord Chief Justice Mansfield in the case of Somerset v. Stewart, long heralded as the first shot fired in the long history of anti-slavery jurisprudence. Who was James Somerset? What impact did this decision have on him, on the institution of slavery, and on the British empire?