The State vs. Mann trial was between the state of North Carolina and John Mann.
John Mann was a slave owner. He shot Lydia who was one of his slaves. Lydia was trying to escape. As she was leaving, he shot her in the back.
The state of North Carolina tried John and found him guilty. He was charged $10. Mann did not like this, so now he is trying to be refunded the money.
According to the state's lawyers, John was guilty. They had many reasons for this.
They asked why are slaves beaten and hurt. Why are they not treated like humans? Slavery helps the economy. So why are they treated poorly?
Another piece of information was brought up. Lydia did not actually belong to John. John was renting her services from another woman.
Slavery crushed the ideas of the United States. This is supposed to be the place where people come to for freedom. If the country is treating outsiders like this, why would anyone want to migrate here?
There was an obvious presence of poor conditions for slaves. Most children born into slavery did not make it to adulthood. Slaves started to boycott work. This made the value of their land less.
The state argued that what Mann did was assault and battery. Since Mann did not legally own Lydia, he could not treat her as badly as he did.
On the side of John Mann, his lawyers argued that he deserved his money back.
According to the bible, Mann was right in what he did. He was justified in his actions, and Lydia was the sinner. They argued that if Lydia just stayed put and put up with the abuse she would not have been shot.
In the end, the state lost, and Mann was refunded his $10.
After hearing both arguments, I agree with the State. What John did was not fair. Slaves should have been treated more equally since they were the reasons that the South was bringing in money.
No comments:
Post a Comment