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The New Castle Court House Museum is the center of a circle with a 12-mile radius that defines most of the border between the states of
Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
and
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
and parts of the borders between Delaware and
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
and
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
. It is one of the
oldest courthouses in the United States Below is a list of the oldest extant courthouses in the United States. Active Former courthouses The following other old courthouses still standing today exist as museums, for other government functions, or are now privately owned facilities. ...
and has played a role in a number of historic events. It was declared 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 ...
in 1972. The building is also a contributing property to a second National Historic Landmark, the New Castle Historic District. It is part of
First State National Historical Park First State National Historical Park is a National Park Service unit which lies primarily in the state of Delaware but which extends partly into Pennsylvania in Chadds Ford. Initially created as First State National Monument by President Barack O ...
.


History


The 12-Mile Circle

In 1682, James, the Duke of York gave
William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...
a deed for land consisting of a 12-mile circle around the town of New Castle. The borders established by this deed were almost immediately contested by Lord Baltimore, proprietor of the colony of
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
, and thus began an 87-year legal struggle between the two families. Penn first commissioned a survey of the circle in 1701. As part of the boundary dispute, the two families created a Commission led by Governor
Patrick Gordon Patrick Leopold Gordon of Auchleuchries (31 March 1635 – 29 November 1699) was a general and rear admiral in Russia, of Scottish origin. He was descended from a family of Aberdeenshire, holders of the estate of Auchleuchries, near Ellon. The ...
of Pennsylvania and Governor
Samuel Ogle Samuel Ogle (c. 1694 – 3 May 1752) was the 16th, 18th and 20th Proprietary Governor of Maryland from 1731 to 1732, 1733 to 1742, and 1746/1747 to 1752. Background The Ogle family was quite prominent for many centuries in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, ...
of Maryland, and the Commission met in the New Castle Court House four times in 1732 and 1733. A subsequent Commission, including
William Allen William Allen may refer to: Politicians United States *William Allen (congressman) (1827–1881), United States Representative from Ohio *William Allen (governor) (1803–1879), U.S. Representative, Senator, and 31st Governor of Ohio *William ...
and
Benjamin Chew Benjamin Chew (November 19, 1722 – January 20, 1810) was a fifth-generation American, a Quaker-born legal scholar, a prominent and successful Philadelphia lawyer, slaveowner, head of the Pennsylvania Judiciary System under both Colony and Com ...
met in the Court House in 1750, where it was agreed by both sides that the cupola of the Court House building would be used as the center of the 12-mile circle. The Commission met in the Court House again in 1751 and 1760. The final survey of the borders as part of the boundary dispute was conducted in 1763 by
Charles Mason Charles Mason (April 1728Jeremiah Dixon Jeremiah Dixon FRS (27 July 1733 – 22 January 1779) was an English surveyor and astronomer who is best known for his work with Charles Mason, from 1763 to 1767, in determining what was later called the Mason–Dixon line. Early life and ...
, who ran a series of chains on a straight 12-mile line from the Court House. Their
Mason–Dixon line The Mason–Dixon line, also called the Mason and Dixon line or Mason's and Dixon's line, is a demarcation line separating four U.S. states, forming part of the borders of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and West Virginia (part of Virginia ...
has been used as the unofficial dividing line between the north and the south. The Penns and Calverts agreed to the results of the Mason-Dixon survey, and their border dispute was resolved when the British crown ratified the border in 1769. The circle was surveyed again in 1849 by the Army's
Corps of Topographical Engineers The U.S. Army Corps of Topographical Engineers was a branch of the United States Army authorized on 4 July 1838. It consisted only of officers who were handpicked from West Point and was used for mapping and the design and construction of federal ...
, and again in 1892 by the
U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey The National Geodetic Survey (NGS) is a United States federal agency that defines and manages a national coordinate system, providing the foundation for transportation and communication; mapping and charting; and a large number of applications ...
. The borders created by the 12-mile circle were also heavily contested by New Jersey beginning in 1820, when New Jersey disputed Delaware's cessation of
Pea Patch Island Pea Patch Island is a small island, approximately 1 mi (1.6 km) long, in the U.S. state of Delaware, located in the mid channel of the Delaware River near its entrance into Delaware Bay. It is a low, marshy island, located in New Castle C ...
to the United States government since the island was primarily on the New Jersey side of the river. Secretary of War
John C. Calhoun John Caldwell Calhoun (; March 18, 1782March 31, 1850) was an American statesman and political theorist from South Carolina who held many important positions including being the seventh vice president of the United States from 1825 to 1832. He ...
requested a legal opinion from Attorney General William Wirt. Wirt's conclusion, based on a report by George Read Jr. and former Attorney General
Caesar A. Rodney Caesar Augustus Rodney (January 4, 1772 – June 10, 1824) was an American lawyer and politician from Wilmington, in New Castle County, Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic-Republican Party, who served in the Delaware General Assembly, ...
was that the state of Delaware had the valid claim. After conflicting opinions from two different circuit courts on the issue, President
James K. Polk James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. He previously was the 13th speaker of the House of Representatives (1835–1839) and ninth governor of Tennessee (183 ...
intervened in 1847 and suggested an arbitrator resolve the disagreement. John Sergeant was appointed arbitrator, and in
Independence Hall Independence Hall is a historic civic building in Philadelphia, where both the United States Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were debated and adopted by America's Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Fa ...
heard arguments from the United States (represented by Senators
John M. Clayton John Middleton Clayton (July 24, 1796 – November 9, 1856) was an American lawyer and politician from Delaware. He was a member of the Whig Party who served in the Delaware General Assembly, and as U.S. Senator from Delaware and U.S. Secretar ...
and
James A. Bayard Jr. James Asheton Bayard Jr. (November 15, 1799 – June 13, 1880) was an American lawyer and politician from Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic Party and served as U.S. Senator from Delaware. Early life Bayard was born in Wilmington, ...
) and a citizen of New Jersey (represented by former Secretary of War
John Eaton John Eaton may refer to: * John Eaton (divine) (born 1575), English divine *John Eaton (pirate) (fl. 1683–1686), English buccaneer *Sir John Craig Eaton (1876–1922), Canadian businessman *John Craig Eaton II (born 1937), Canadian businessman an ...
and former Secretary of the Treasury
George M. Bibb George Mortimer Bibb (October 30, 1776 – April 14, 1859) was an American lawyer and politician and the seventeenth United States Secretary of the Treasury. He was chief justice of the Kentucky Court of Appeals and twice represented Kentucky as ...
) regarding the history of colonial deeds and the origin of the Twelve-Mile Circle. Sergeant ruled that the deed for the circle was valid and the island had belonged to the state of Delaware. New Jersey contested the circle's borders again in 1872, when Delaware arrested several New Jersey fishermen and New Jersey claimed ownership of the
Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...
up to the middle point. The issue has been adjudicated by the
United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
several times (primarily in 1877, 1934, and 2007) in cases named
New Jersey v. Delaware ''New Jersey v. Delaware'', 552 U.S. 597 (2008), is a United States Supreme Court case in which New Jersey sued Delaware, invoking the Supreme Court's original jurisdiction under (a), following Delaware's denial of oil company BP's petition to ...
, and the extensive history of the circle and border dispute were documented by Justice
Benjamin N. Cardozo Benjamin Nathan Cardozo (May 24, 1870 – July 9, 1938) was an American lawyer and jurist who served on the New York Court of Appeals from 1914 to 1932 and as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1932 until his dea ...
in the 1934 case.


Colonial and early American history

The oldest known courthouse on the site dates back to 1687. The building was originally both a courthouse and a seat of government, as the building was used by the colonial assembly. During the years when Pennsylvania and Delaware shared an assembly, it generally met in Philadelphia, but occasionally met in New Castle instead, such as in 1684 and 1690. In 1700, the Pennsylvania colonial assembly met in the recently constructed Court House, with William Penn in attendance. In addition to the routine passing of laws, Penn's primary focus during the 1700 session was healing a rift that had developed between the assemblymen from Pennsylvania proper and those from Delaware. This attempt was unsuccessful. In 1704, after the Pennsylvania counties sought to expand their representation in the assembly, the three Delaware counties demanded, and were granted, an independent assembly so they could pass their own laws. They chose William Rodney, grandfather of Caesar Rodney, as their first Speaker. From that year on, the assembly that met in the Court House governed Delaware alone. This earlier building was mostly destroyed by a fire in 1729 caused by a prisoner's attempt to escape. The Court House was rebuilt on the same site within a year, and the foundation of the original is still visible. In 1774, the assembly met here and chose three of Delaware's most famous politicians to represent the colony in the
Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...
:
Thomas McKean Thomas McKean (March 19, 1734June 24, 1817) was an American lawyer, politician, and Founding Father. During the American Revolution, he was a Delaware delegate to the Continental Congress, where he signed the Continental Association, the United ...
,
Caesar Rodney Caesar Rodney (October 7, 1728 – June 26, 1784) was an American Founding Father, lawyer, and politician from St. Jones Neck in Dover Hundred, Kent County, Delaware. He was an officer of the Delaware militia during the French and Indian War a ...
, and
George Read George Read may refer to: * George Reade (colonial governor) (1608–1671), politician, judge, and Acting Governor of Virginia Colony * George Read (American politician, born 1733) (1733–1798), lawyer, signer of Declaration of Independence and U ...
. It was in this building that the assembly, at McKean's urging, voted on June 13, 1776 to sever all ties with England as well as the state of Pennsylvania, with which Delaware still shared a governor. The assembly resolved that:
Whereas it is become absolutely necessary for the safety, protection, and happiness of the good people of this colony, forthwith to establish some authority adequately to the exigency of their affairs, until a new government can be formed; and Whereas the representatives of the people, in this assembly met, alone can and ought at this time, to establish such temporary uthority Resolved unanimously, that all persons holding any office, civil or military, in this colony, on the 13 day of June instant, may and shall continue to execute the same, in the name of the government of the Counties of New Castle, Kent, and Sussex Upon Delaware, as they used legally to exercise it in the name of the King, until a new government shall be formed, agreeable to the resolution of Congress of 15 May instant.
When the Congress issued the
Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the ...
, it was read to the citizens of the town from the balcony on the second floor. Later in 1776, Delaware's first
Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...
was drafted and adopted by a convention including Read, McKean, and Nicholas Van Dyke inside the Court House. This was the first adoption of a state constitution following the issuance of the Declaration. The building served as the state's first capitol until 1777, when
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
and Wilmington were captured by the British. In light of the danger, Delaware's government moved south, establishing
Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...
as the new capital city. The building continued to house both state and federal judicial proceedings until 1888. In 1804, when Benjamin H. Latrobe (the designer of the
United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, which is formally known as the United States Congress. It is located on Capitol Hill ...
) was living in New Castle, the architect performed a survey and designed a town plan along with his apprentices Robert Mills (later designer of the
Washington Monument The Washington Monument is an obelisk shaped building within the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate George Washington, once commander-in-chief of the Continental Army (1775–1784) in the American Revolutionary War and the ...
) and William Strickland (architect of the
Second Bank of the United States The Second Bank of the United States was the second federally authorized Hamiltonian national bank in the United States. Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the bank was chartered from February 1816 to January 1836.. The Bank's formal name, ac ...
). The streets around the Court House were regraded so that it would loom above street level as a result of the town plan Latrobe devised. As part of this survey, the architects drew detailed images of the New Castle Court House that were used for later restorations.


Impeachment of Samuel Chase

In 1800, U.S. Supreme Court Justice
Samuel Chase Samuel Chase (April 17, 1741 – June 19, 1811) was a Founding Father of the United States, a signatory to the Continental Association and United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Maryland, and an Associate Justice of th ...
convened a grand jury at the New Castle Court House and sought indictments against seditious newspapers under the
Alien and Sedition Acts The Alien and Sedition Acts were a set of four laws enacted in 1798 that applied restrictions to immigration and speech in the United States. The Naturalization Act increased the requirements to seek citizenship, the Alien Friends Act allowed th ...
. The grand jury declined to issue any indictments, but Chase refused to release them from service, insisting he was aware of at least one seditious newspaper and ordering files of the town's newspapers brought in for the jury to review as evidence. The justice was not an impartial party, as the seditious activity he wanted indicted was a local printer's criticisms of Chase himself, over the justice's attacks on free speech rights. Chase was furious at the refusal to indict, complaining "that ... he could not get a single man indicted in Delaware, while he could in every other place." In 1804, Chase became the first, and only, Justice of the Supreme Court impeached by the House. One of the eight articles of impeachment focused on the justice's conduct in the New Castle Court House. Delaware's U.S. Representative Caesar A. Rodney was one of the House's impeachment managers. The House alleged that Chase had been engaged in a witch hunt to silence Democratic opposition, and that he had abused his authority by refusing to release the grand jury in New Castle. The article of impeachment stated that Chase, "did descend from the dignity of a judge and stoop to the level of an informer by refusing to discharge the grand jury, although entreated by several of the said jury so to do," and quoted his words to the grand jury in saying that he:
... understood "that a highly seditious temper had manifested itself in the State of Delaware among a certain class of people, particularly in Newcastle County, and more especially in the town of Wilmington, where lived a most seditious printer, unrestrained by any principle of virtue, and regardless of social order, that the name of this printer was..." --but checking himself, as if sensible of the indecorum which he was committing, added "that it might be assuming too much to mention the name of this person, but it becomes your duty, gentlemen, to inquire diligently into this matter," or words to that effect ../blockquote> Chase defended himself by stating that if he was aware of a federal law having been broken, it was his duty to bring it to the attention of the court. The Senate found Chase not guilty on each count of impeachment. Though the attempt to remove Chase was unsuccessful, Rodney fared well, as he was considered the strongest speaker of the managers. The Virginia Law Register stated, "The Managers were entirely overmatched, and with the exception of Rodney, of Delaware, won no praise." He gave one of the closing arguments of the trial, in which he stated, "Give any human being judicial power for life, and annex to the exercise of it the kingly maxim 'that he can do no wrong,' you may call him a judge or justice, no matter what is the appellation, and you transform him into a despot." Two years later, President
Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...
appointed Rodney
U.S. Attorney General The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...
.


Penn's heirs

In 1801,
John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...
and Richard Penn, heirs of William, brought a federal lawsuit seeking compensation for the uncultivated lands of Delaware which they claimed they were entitled to as former proprietors. The damages they sought were allowed under the
Midnight Judges Act The Midnight Judges Act (also known as the Judiciary Act of 1801; , and officially An act to provide for the more convenient organization of the Courts of the United States) represented an effort to solve an issue in the U.S. Supreme Court during t ...
signed into law by President
John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...
before the end of his term. The Act was repealed in 1802. In 1804, the case was heard in a trial at the New Castle Court House. The case was notable for the prominence of the legal teams assembled on each side. The Penns were represented by
Jared Ingersoll Jared Ingersoll (October 24, 1749 – October 31, 1822) was an American Founding Father, lawyer, and statesman from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress and a signer of the United States Constitution. He serv ...
, Joseph McKean (son of Thomas), and Moses Levy; the state of Delaware was represented by Caesar A. Rodney, James A. Bayard Sr., George Read Jr., and state Attorney General Nicholas Van Dyke Jr. Presiding over the case was U.S. Judge
Gunning Bedford Jr. Gunning Bedford Jr. (1747 – March 30, 1812) was an American Founding Father, delegate to the Congress of the Confederation (Continental Congress), Attorney General of Delaware, a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in 1787 which drafted ...
and Justice Samuel Chase. After hearing the legal arguments from each side, Chase determined that the repeal of the 1801 Act left the court without authority to decide the case, and he dismissed it with a memorable opinion:
The question is whether this Court now have a jurisdiction, not whether they have had. The question is very different whether Judicial power extends to a particular case & whether the jurisdiction of a particular Court embraces the case. Congress has certainly power to vary a jurisdiction created by Statute—tho not by Constitution. The question here is whether there is a statutory jurisdiction. This is to be determined by the consideration whether we are to be governed by Statute in force or repealed. The Act of 1801 is repealed without a saving. This is not an ex post facto law—it is retrospective as to rights, I agree, but against no part of the Constitution. I know that in England construction has gone a great way in construction of the words of Statutes. This doctrine I explode. If the words of Statutes are clear, I am bound, tho the provision be unjust. This I hold to be the duty of an American Judge. A Judge has in this Country only to say Sic lex est scripta. Here is a Statute which gave a jurisdiction. It has been repealed. What are we to do. No power remains. The law repealed is dead & is as if it never existed.
The Penns had
Lord Gambier Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy), Admiral of the Fleet James Gambier, 1st Baron Gambier, (13 October 1756 – 19 April 1833) was a Royal Navy officer. After seeing action at the capture of Charleston, South Carolina, Charleston during the Ameri ...
bring the claim up to Bayard when the two were negotiating the Treaty of Ghent, but Bayard claimed he had no authority to negotiate the issue, and the Penns made no further legal attempts at the claim.


Garrett and Hunn trials

One of the building's most famous of judicial proceedings was a series of trials which took place in 1848. Prominent abolitionists and
Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. T ...
conductors
Thomas Garrett Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...
(a close friend and ally of
Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Ross, March 10, 1913) was an American abolitionist and social activist. Born into slavery, Tubman escaped and subsequently made some 13 missions to rescue approximately 70 slaves, including family and friends, us ...
) and John Hunn were put on trial for violating the
Fugitive Slave Act A fugitive (or runaway) is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from jail, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals. A fugitive from justice, also kno ...
. The trial was presided over by U.S. Chief Justice
Roger Taney Roger Brooke Taney (; March 17, 1777 – October 12, 1864) was the fifth chief justice of the United States, holding that office from 1836 until his death in 1864. Although an opponent of slavery, believing it to be an evil practice, Taney belie ...
. Garrett was defended by his friend U.S. Senator
John Wales John Wales (July 31, 1783 – December 3, 1863) was an American lawyer and politician from Wilmington, in New Castle County, Delaware. He was a member of the Whig Party who served as U.S. Senator from Delaware. Early life and family Wales was ...
. The prosecution was handled by James A. Bayard Jr., son of U.S. Senator James A. Bayard Sr. (negotiator of the
Treaty of Ghent The Treaty of Ghent () was the peace treaty that ended the War of 1812 between the United States and the United Kingdom. It took effect in February 1815. Both sides signed it on December 24, 1814, in the city of Ghent, United Netherlands (now in ...
) and grandson of
Richard Bassett Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...
(one of the drafters of the U.S. Constitution). The trials mostly served to harden the feelings over slavery of each of the men involved. Justice Taney's instructions to the jury left little choice but a conviction:
To entitle the plaintiff to a verdict in this case, it is necessary for him to have proved property of the slaves. This has not been contradicted by the defense. It only remains then to prove that they escaped, and that the defendant harbored them, knowing them to be slaves. It does not require absolute knowledge on the part of the defendant that these persons were slaves. If, at the time, or before he harbored them, circumstances came to his knowledge sufficient to put a prudent man upon his inquiry, it is "knowingly harboring" within the meaning of the act of Congress, and makes him liable to the penalty.
Both Garrett and Hunn were found guilty and were issued fines heavy enough to bankrupt both men. Despite the fines, Garrett and Hunn defiantly declared they would continue helping slaves escape to freedom. Upon hearing Taney's punishment, Garrett gave a speech to the courtroom in which he stated:
I now pledge myself, in the presence of this assembly, to use all lawful and honourable means to lessen the burdens of this oppressed people, and endeavour, according to ability furnished, to burst their chains asunder, and set them free; not relaxing my efforts on their behalf while blessed with health and a slave remains. ..After mature reflection, I can assure this assembly it is my opinion at this time that the verdicts you have given the prosecutors against John Hunn and myself, within the past few days, will have a tendency to raise a spirit of inquiry throughout the length and breadth of the land, respecting this monster evil (slavery), in many minds that have not heretofore investigated the subject. The reports of those trials will be published by editors from Maine to Texas, and the far West; and what must be the effect produced? It will, no doubt, add hundreds, perhaps thousands, to the present large and rapidly increasing army of Abolitionists. The injury is great to us who are the immediate sufferers by your verdict; but I believe the verdicts you have given against us within the last few days will have a powerful effect in bringing about the abolition of slavery in this country—this land of boasted freedom, where not only the slave is fettered at the South by his lordly master, but the white man at the North is bound as in chains to do the bidding of his Southern masters.
After the trials, Garrett corresponded with
Harriet Beecher Stowe Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and became best known for her novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (1852), which depicts the harsh ...
, and four years later she used the events as the inspiration for some of the scenes in her novel ''
Uncle Tom's Cabin ''Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly'' is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in two volumes in 1852, the novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in the U. ...
''. Garrett was the primary basis for the character of Simeon Halliday. Stowe also described the trials and recounted her correspondence with Garrett in her book ''
A Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin ''A Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin'' is a book by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. It was published to document the veracity of the depiction of slavery in Stowe's anti-slavery novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (1852). First published in 1853 by Jewett ...
'', where she noted, "The writer had in mind, at the time of writing, the scenes in the trial of ..Garret, of Wilmington, Delaware, for the crime of hiring a hack to convey a mother and four children from Newcastle jail to Wilmington." By the time the Civil War broke out, Garrett had helped 2,700 slaves escape to freedom. Hunn served with the
Freedmen's Bureau The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, usually referred to as simply the Freedmen's Bureau, was an agency of early Reconstruction, assisting freedmen in the South. It was established on March 3, 1865, and operated briefly as a ...
, and his
son A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some current c ...
was elected Delaware governor and oversaw state approval of the 13th,
14th 14 (fourteen) is a natural number following 13 (number), 13 and preceding 15 (number), 15. In relation to the word "four" (4), 14 is spelled "fourteen". In mathematics * 14 is a composite number. * 14 is a square pyramidal number. * 14 is a s ...
, and
15th 15 (fifteen) is the natural number following 14 (number), 14 and preceding 16 (number), 16. Mathematics 15 is: * A composite number, and the sixth semiprime; its proper divisors being , and . * A deficient number, a smooth number, a lucky ...
Amendments to the Constitution. Taney would go on to author the decision in the famous
Dred Scott Dred Scott (c. 1799 – September 17, 1858) was an Slavery in the United States, enslaved African Americans, African American man who, along with his wife, Harriet Robinson Scott, Harriet, unsuccessfully sued for freedom for themselves and thei ...
case in 1857, which held that blacks could not be considered American citizens. Bayard later defeated Wales again in 1850 when he won election to the Senate, where he became one of the fiercest critics of the loyalty oaths and where he voted to acquit President
Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He assumed the presidency as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a Dem ...
in his impeachment trial.


Museum and National Park

The Court House was opened as a museum by the state of Delaware in 1963. The building is now part of First State National Historical Park. The park's headquarters and visitor's center will be located in the Sheriff's House adjacent to the Court House. The National Historical Park was created to preserve and interpret the unique history of the region's colonization by the Swedes, Dutch, and English, and Delaware's role in establishing the United States leading up to it becoming the first state.


See also

* National Register of Historic Places listings in northern New Castle County, Delaware *
List of National Historic Landmarks in Delaware This is a List of National Historic Landmarks in Delaware. There are 14 National Historic Landmarks (NHLs) in Delaware. NHLs They are distributed over the three counties of Delaware. Following is a complete list: See also * N ...
*
List of the oldest buildings in Delaware This article attempts to list the oldest extant buildings surviving in the state of Delaware in the United States of America, including the oldest houses in Delaware and any other surviving structures. Some dates are approximate and based upon den ...
* Penn–Calvert Boundary Dispute *
The Twelve-Mile Circle The Twelve-Mile Circle is an approximately circular arc which forms most of the boundary between Pennsylvania and Delaware. It is not actually a circle, but rather a combination of different circular arcs that have been feathered together. It is ...
* Read House & Gardens * Stonum


References


External links


New Castle Court House Museum
*National Park Service Website
First State National Historical Park
* {{authority control County courthouses in Delaware Buildings and structures in New Castle, Delaware History museums in Delaware Museums in New Castle County, Delaware Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Delaware National Historic Landmarks in Delaware Historic American Buildings Survey in Delaware British colonial architecture in the United States Colonial architecture in Delaware National Register of Historic Places in New Castle County, Delaware First State National Historical Park