Racial justice in 1820s Indiana: Slave trial and Fall Creek Massacre - encore

<p>With various aspects of racial justice in the headlines, <strong>Hoosier History Live</strong> will explore precedent-setting legal trials in early Indiana involving <strong>African Americans</strong> and <strong>Native Americans</strong>. We are drawing upon our rich archive for a special encore show focusing on two landmark cases of racial justice in early 19th century Indiana.</p> <p dir="ltr"><img src= "http://hoosierhistorylive.org/images/Jessamyn-West-novel.PNG" alt= "Book cover: The Massacre at Fall Creek by Jessamyn West." width= "211" height="415" align="right" />The two trials: one in which an enslaved Indiana woman successfully sued for her freedom, and a second in which white men were found guilty and executed for slaughtering nine Native Americans, an infamous incident that history has dubbed the <strong>Fall Creek Massacre</strong>. The shows focusing on these milestone legal cases both originally aired in 2010.</p> <p dir="ltr">In 1821, <strong><a href= "http://www.marybatemanclark.org/">Mary Bateman Clark</a></strong>, a young African-American woman living in <strong>Vincennes</strong>, made history when her lawyer filed a lawsuit seeking her release from an "indentured servitude" contract with one of the most prominent men in the new state of Indiana. The contract required Clark to cook, clean and sew for <strong>Gen. Washington Johnston</strong> and his family for 20 years. Her only pay was housing, food and clothing.</p> <p dir="ltr">The case, which made its way to the <strong><a href= "https://www.in.gov/judiciary/supreme/">Indiana Supreme Court</a></strong>, involved determining whether such "indentured servitude" contracts violated the state's <strong><a href= "https://www.in.gov/library/3549.htm">Constitution</a></strong> as a form of slavery. Nearly 200 years ago - on Nov. 16, 1821 - the state Supreme Court ruled in Clark's favor and ordered her employer to release her.</p> <p dir="ltr"><img src= "http://hoosierhistorylive.org/images/EuniceTrotter.png" alt= "Eunice Trotter" width="227"