Mary Bateman Clark (1795–1840) was an American woman, born into slavery, who was taken to

Indiana Territory The Indiana Territory, officially the Territory of Indiana, was created by an organic act that President of the United States, President John Adams signed into law on May 7, 1800, to form an Historic regions of the United States, organized incor ...

. She was forced to become an indentured servant, even though the

Northwest Ordinance The Northwest Ordinance (formally An Ordinance for the Government of the Territory of the United States, North-West of the River Ohio and also known as the Ordinance of 1787), enacted July 13, 1787, was an organic act of the Congress of the Co ...

prohibited slavery. She was sold in 1816, the same year that the

Constitution of Indiana The Constitution of Indiana is the highest body of state law in the U.S. state of Indiana. It establishes the structure and function of the state and is based on the principles of federalism and Jacksonian democracy. Indiana's constitution is su ...

prohibited slavery and indentured servitude. In 1821, attorney

Amory Kinney Amory Kinney (April 13, 1793 – November 20, 1859) was an American abolitionist and attorney who represented Polly Strong in the landmark '' State v. Lasselle'' case, tried in the Indiana Supreme Court, that freed Strong and set a precedent for ...

represented her as she fought for her freedom in the courts. After losing the case in the Circuit Court, she appealed to the

Indiana Supreme Court The Indiana Supreme Court, established by Article 7 of the Indiana Constitution, is the highest judicial authority in the state of Indiana. Located in Indianapolis, the Court's chambers are in the north wing of the Indiana Statehouse. In Dec ...

in the case of ''Mary Clark v. G.W. Johnston''. She won her freedom with the precedent-setting decision against indentured servitude in Indiana. The documentary, ''Mary Bateman Clark: A Woman of Colour and Courage'', tells the story of her life and fight for freedom.

Background

Beginning in the 16th century, the present-day state of Indiana was part of

New France New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Kingdom of Great Br ...

(1534–1763), under which slavery was legal. Slavery was practiced by the French, Native Americans, and their allies. For instance,

René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle (; November 22, 1643 – March 19, 1687), was a 17th-century French explorer and North American fur trade, fur trader in North America. He explored the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada ...

traveled through the area with a Shawnee slave. Native American and Black enslaved people were bought and sold in slave markets in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Even though the

of 1787 banned slavery, most of the African Americans were enslaved, some were

indentured servants Indentured servitude is a form of labor in which a person is contracted to work without salary for a specific number of years. The contract called an "indenture", may be entered voluntarily for a prepaid lump sum, as payment for some good or ser ...

. Many of the slaveholders were influential men like civic and religious leaders, businessmen, and lawyers, who sanctioned going around the law to keep their bondservants. Slaveholders created a "loophole", that the provision did not apply to African Americans who were already enslaved in the state. In 1816, the

made forced labor illegal, stating that "there shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in this state."

Polly Strong Polly Strong (–unknown) was an enslaved woman in the Northwest Territory, in present-day Indiana. She was born after the Northwest Ordinance prohibited slavery. Slavery was prohibited by the Constitution of Indiana in 1816. Two years later, Str ...

, an enslaved woman, was the plaintiff in a case that argued that she should be free. After losing in the Harrison County Circuit Court, she won the case at the

on July 22, 1820, and she was freed.

Early life

Mary Bateman Clark was born into slavery in 1795. She was a teenager living in Kentucky in 1814, when she was sold to Benjamin J. Harrison, who took her north January of the following year to

Vincennes Vincennes (; ) is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Vincennes is famous for its castle: the Château de Vincennes. It is next to but does not include the ...

. Harrison forced Clark to sign an agreement, that she could not read, that required her to remain his servant for 30 years. Blacks were threatened that if they did not sign indenture contracts, they would be returned to slavery in the South. Even though the

of 1816 prohibited slavery and servitude, Harrison sold Clark to General Washington Johnston, his wealthy uncle and member of the

Indiana General Assembly The Indiana General Assembly is the state legislature, or legislative branch, of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the Indiana House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Indiana Sena ...

. He was a recent widower. On October 24, 1816, she was purchased for $350 () and had an indenture contract of 20 years.

Court cases

In 1821, Attorney

, who one year earlier represented

, filed the

freedom suit Freedom suits were lawsuits in the Thirteen Colonies and the United States filed by enslaved people against slaveholders to assert claims to freedom, often based on descent from a free maternal ancestor, or time held as a resident in a free sta ...

''Mary Clark v. General W. Johnston'' to terminate Clark's indenture. As with Strong's case, Clark lost in the Circuit Court. The court had ruled that she voluntarily entered into indentured contract, and had to finish out the 20-year term. Clark was ordered to pay Johnston's court costs. Clark's attorney appealed the decision with the Indiana Supreme Court in the case of ''Mary Clark v. G.W. Johnston''. She won her freedom on November 6, 1821, when the court ruled that servitude violated the state's 1816 Constitution. This was a landmark contract law case for indentured servants and foretold the end of

forced labor Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, or violence, including death or other forms of ...

in Indiana. At some point, Samuel was also freed. After the Indiana Supreme Court verdicts, Kinney was attacked by mobs, and after a few years moved to

Terre Haute, Indiana Terre Haute ( ) is a city in Vigo County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 58,389 and Terre Haute metropolitan area, its metropolitan area had a populati ...

Personal life

Mary Bateman married Samuel Clark on July 12, 1817, becoming Mary Bateman Clark. Samuel Clark had also come from Kentucky as an enslaved person. He was

William Henry Harrison William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was the ninth president of the United States, serving from March 4 to April 4, 1841, the shortest presidency in U.S. history. He was also the first U.S. president to die in office, causin ...

's horse handler at the

Battle of Tippecanoe The Battle of Tippecanoe ( ) was fought on November 7, 1811, in Battle Ground, Indiana, between United States Armed Forces, American forces led by then Governor William Henry Harrison of the Indiana Territory and tribal forces associated with Sh ...

. He may have been owned by Luke Decker of Knox County. The Clarks had twelve children together. The seven known children were born between 1820 and 1837: Mary Eliza Brewer, George, William G. W., Frances, John S., Lovina Mariah Reynolds, and Maria Rollins. The family lived in Vincennes. Bateman Clark was a co-founder of the Bethel AME Church of Vincennes. She died in 1840 of dysentery after drinking poisoned water and was buried in the Greenlawn Cemetery in Vincennes. Samuel death was reported on October 27, 1869.

Legacy

* Outside the Knox County Court House in

Vincennes, Indiana Vincennes is a city in, and the county seat of, Knox County, Indiana, United States. It is located on the lower Wabash River in the southwestern part of the state, nearly halfway between Evansville and Terre Haute. It was founded in 1732 by F ...

, a historical marker commemorates Clark and her landmark Supreme Court case. It was installed on June 27, 2009. Although Vincennes was the first black community in the state, the marker is the only state memorial in the town. * Ethel McCane and Eunice Trotter, Clark's three times great-granddaughters perform reenactments of the case in Indiana. * The documentary, ''Mary Bateman Clark: A Woman of Colour and Courage'', tells the story of her life and fight for freedom. Produced by the

Agency for Instructional Technology The Agency for Instructional Technology (AIT) was a non-profit organization in the United States that produced, sold and distributed educational and instructional television programs, and other multimedia materials, to schools in the United States ...

, it was televised on local PBS affiliates during

Black History Month Black History Month is an annually observed commemorative month originating in the United States, where it is also known as African-American History Month. It began as a way of remembering important people and events in the history of the Af ...

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Mary Bateman 1790s births 19th-century American slaves People from the Northwest Territory 19th century in the Northwest Territory 19th-century American people 19th-century African-American people 19th-century American women 19th-century African-American women Freedom suits in the United States Indiana state case law Legal history of Indiana 1821 in United States case law United States slavery case law 1821 in Indiana African-American history of Indiana 1840 deaths History of slavery in Indiana People enslaved in Kentucky