O Say Can You See: Early Washington, D.C., Law and Family Project
Creators:
O Say Can You See Project
Publication Date:
2024
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Dataset Description:
This site documents the challenge to slavery and the quest for freedom in early Washington, D.C., by collecting, digitizing, making accessible, and analyzing freedom suits filed between 1800 and 1862, as well as tracing the multigenerational family networks they reveal. The project encompasses hundreds of freedom suits from the Circuit Court for the District of Columbia, Maryland state courts, and the U.S. Supreme Court, providing invaluable insights into the legal battles fought by enslaved individuals seeking freedom. By exploring the web of litigants, jurists, attorneys, and community members present in case files, the project shows deep relationship mapping of early Washington, D.C., illustrating how each person is connected to others in the city and beyond. The dataset has a size of 3,0 kB and is organized into several interconnected components:
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People: A database of individuals involved in the cases, including litigants, jurists, attorneys, and community members, with detailed profiles and social connections.
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Families: Kinship and family networks of multigenerational Black, white, and mixed families, created using information derived from court records and genealogical research.
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Cases: A collection of hundreds of freedom cases from various courts, providing detailed accounts of each legal battle.
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Stories: Interactive analyses of the court cases, families, attorneys, and judges, focusing on historical or legal questions raised by these cases.
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