Charlotte Dupuy, also called Lottie (),
, Isaac Scott Hathaway Museum of Lexington, Kentucky.[Charlotte Dupuy was still living in 1860. She and her husband Aaron were listed by name as free persons in the 1860 Census for Fayette County, Kentucky. They were respectively 70 and 76 years old. In his obituary of 1866, he was listed as being survived by his wife, likely Charlotte.] was an enslaved African-American woman who filed a
freedom suit
Freedom suits were lawsuits in the Thirteen Colonies and the United States filed by slaves 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 state or ter ...
in 1829 against her enslaver,
Henry Clay, who was then
Secretary of State. The case went to court 17 years before
Dred Scott
Dred Scott (c. 1799 – September 17, 1858) was an enslaved African American man who, along with his wife, Harriet, unsuccessfully sued for freedom for themselves and their two daughters in the '' Dred Scott v. Sandford'' case of 1857, popula ...
filed his more famous legal challenge to slavery. Then living in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, Dupuy sued for her freedom and that of her two children, based on a promise by her previous enslaver. The case was one of the many freedom suits filed by enslaved people in the decades before the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
.
Although the Circuit Court's ruling in 1830 went against Dupuy, she had worked for wages for 18 months and lived in the household of
Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren ( ; nl, Maarten van Buren; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the eighth president of the United States from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party, he ...
, the succeeding Secretary of State, while it was decided. Clay had returned to his home in
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...
in 1829. After the ruling, Clay had Dupuy renditioned to the home of his daughter and son-in-law in
, and she remained enslaved for another decade.
Finally in 1840, Henry Clay freed Dupuy and her daughter Mary Ann. Four years later he freed her son Charles Dupuy. By 1860 her husband Aaron Dupuy was listed on the census as a free man living with her at
Ashland.
Early life
Charlotte Dupuy was born into slavery in
Cambridge, Maryland
Cambridge is a city in Dorchester County, Maryland, United States. The population was 13,096 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Dorchester County and the county's largest municipality. Cambridge is the fourth most populous city in Mary ...
. She was brought to Kentucky in 1805 by the tailor James Condon, who had purchased her as a child from Daniel Parker in Cambridge.
She was said to have been born about 1787. In about 1806 she met and married Aaron Dupuy, a young man held by
Henry Clay on his
Ashland plantation in
Lexington, Kentucky. Condon sold Charlotte to Henry Clay in May 1806, perhaps to allow the young couple to live together. Charlotte and Aaron had two children, Charles and Mary Ann Dupuy.
Clay went to Washington, D.C. for his congressional term beginning in 1810 and took the Dupuys with him. They lived with Clay and served in the house he rented, originally built for
Stephen Decatur. Located at
Lafayette Square across from the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
, today the
Decatur House
Decatur House is a historic house museum at 748 Jackson Place in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. It is named after its first owner and occupant Stephen Decatur. The house (built, 1818) is located at the northwest corner of ...
is a museum and a designated
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
.
Petition for freedom
Charlotte Dupuy and her family enjoyed the relative freedom of living in Washington, D.C., where they met other enslaved people and joined some of the activities of the city. Clay allowed Charlotte Dupuy to visit her mother and family on the Eastern Shore.
Following his Congressional career,
Henry Clay served as Secretary of State from 1825 to 1829.
As Clay began making preparations in 1829 to leave the capital when his service ended, Dupuy filed a petition for her freedom and that of her children. She based this on her mother's being free and her previous enslaver Condon's promise to free her and her children.
[David S. Heidler and Jeanne T. Heidler, ''Henry Clay: The Essential American''](_blank)
New York: Random House: 2010, pp. 217–218, accessed 12 May 2011 Clay thought his political enemies had persuaded her to do it and decided to fight it, as he was embarrassed by the publicity.
On February 13, 1829, her attorney Robert Beale wrote a petition on her behalf to the judges of the District of Columbia. The petition asked the courts to use their power to keep Clay from removing Charlotte Dupuy from the District of Columbia while her lawsuit for freedom was underway. The Court granted this petition.
, accessed 21 Apr 2009
Beale argued that Dupuy and her children were “entitled to their freedom” based on a promise by her previous master James Condon, but were “now held in a state of slavery by one Henry Clay (Secty of State) contrary to the law and your petitioners just rights.” Clay wanted to remove the Dupuys from their DC residence and return them to Kentucky. There, Beale argued, they would “be held as slaves for life." While the Court allowed Charlotte Dupuy to stay in Washington while the case was heard, it permitted Clay to take her husband Aaron and children Mary Ann and Charles back to Kentucky.
Case
Charlotte Dupuy's petition to stay in the District temporarily was granted, but her writ for freedom was denied. Clay's attorney showed that her mother had been freed after Charlotte was born, which did not affect her status as a slave.
Her case was taken seriously for, according to a letter by Henry Clay, Dupuy stayed in DC "upwards of 18 months" after he left for Kentucky, awaiting the results of the trial. During these 18 months, Clay described her as acting as "her own mistress".
Dupuy worked for wages for the succeeding Secretary of State,
Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren ( ; nl, Maarten van Buren; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the eighth president of the United States from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party, he ...
, who also lived at Decatur House. The letter shows that Dupuy never willingly left DC. On the first page, Clay mused, "How shall I now get her ...?" He approved of his agent's having Dupuy arrested when she refused to return to Kentucky.
["First Page of a Letter from Henry Clay to his agent in Washington, Philip Fendall, Regarding Charlotte Dupuy's Petition for Freedom, 10 Sept 1830"](_blank)
Transcription and Digital Image at Decatur House on Lafayette Square,'' 'The Half Had not Been Told Me': African Americans on Lafayette Square (1795–1965)'', accessed 21 Apr 2009
Although Dupuy was fighting for her freedom, the courts, in order to hear her case, had to assume her status as a
free negro or a
free person of color
In the context of the history of slavery in the Americas, free people of color (French: ''gens de couleur libres''; Spanish: ''gente de color libre'') were primarily people of mixed African, European, and Native American descent who were not ...
, since enslaved people had no legal standing in the courts. Such actions began to create political space for slaves' freedom.
[For a more in-depth discussion of the liminal space of freedom created by these court cases, se]
Edlie Wong, ''Neither Fugitive nor Free: Atlantic Slavery, Freedom Suits, and the Legal Culture of Travel''
New York University Press, 2009 The Court determined that the agreement between Dupuy and Condon was not applicable to any new ownership, and rejected her claim against Clay.
Aftermath
Clay's agent arranged for Dupuy to be held in prison in
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
, which was part of the District of Columbia at the time, while he decided what to do. Clay had Dupuy removed from Washington and transported to
, to the home of his daughter and son-in-law Martin Duralde. She was enslaved there for another decade.
Finally on 12 October 1840, Henry Clay freed Charlotte Dupuy and her daughter Mary Ann in New Orleans. He retained her son Charles Dupuy, who traveled with him to speaking engagements. Clay frequently used him as an example of how well he treated slaves. He eventually freed Charles in 1844.
Either Clay before his death in 1852 or by his will, or his descendants freed Charlotte's husband Aaron Dupuy, or "gave him his time". The couple reunited to live again in Kentucky, where Aaron worked for John M. Clay at Ashland after his father's death. While no deed of emancipation was found for Aaron Dupuy, according to the 1860 census, he and Charlotte Dupuy were listed as living together as free persons in
Fayette County, Kentucky. An obituary of Aaron Dupuy said he died February 6, 1866, and was survived by his widow, although she was not listed by name.
[
]
Legacy
* Dupuy's struggle for freedom has been recognized by new exhibits in the Decatur House
Decatur House is a historic house museum at 748 Jackson Place in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. It is named after its first owner and occupant Stephen Decatur. The house (built, 1818) is located at the northwest corner of ...
, where she lived and worked for nearly two decades. The Decatur House has been designated a National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
and operates as a museum.
* The story of Charlotte and Aaron Dupuy is also featured at the Isaac Scott Hathaway
Isaac Scott Hathaway (April 4, 1872 – March 12, 1967) was an African American artist who worked in different genres of art, including ceramics and sculpture.
Life and career
Hathaway was born in 1872 (although some resources say 1874), in Lex ...
Museum of Lexington, Kentucky, and in their online exhibits.
* Her suit has made Decatur Place a site in accounts of the historic civil rights movement and its "trail" in Washington, DC.Charles E. Cobb, Jr., ''On the Road to Freedom: A Guided Tour of the Civil Rights Trail''
Algonquin Books, 2008, p. 11, accessed 12 May 2011
See also
*
Polly Berry
Polly Berry (c.1803–1805 – after 1865) was an African American woman notable for winning two freedom suits in St. Louis, one for herself, which she won in 1843, and one for her daughter Lucy, which she won in 1844. Having acquired the surnam ...
*
Lucy Delaney
*
List of slaves
Slavery is a social-economic system under which people are enslaved: deprived of personal freedom and forced to perform labor or services without compensation. These people are referred to as slaves, or as enslaved people.
The following is a ...
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dupuy, Charlotte
18th-century births
19th-century deaths
Year of birth uncertain
18th-century American slaves
Free Negroes
Legal history of the United States
Freedom suits in the United States
United States slavery case law
Martin Van Buren
Henry Clay
People from Cambridge, Maryland