State V Mann Reaction

Today we got to sit through a reenactment of a real life historical court case; State V Mann. 

This particular court case involved a poor white man, John Mann and Lydia, an enslaved African American woman. 

Mann had rented Lydia out from her owner so she could do some work for him, she did the normal jobs that slaves had done in this period. One day, Mann had whipped her and she tried to escape. In result, Mann shot Lydia in the back of the head, she did not die but Mann was charged with assault and battery and was fined $5. Mann is here today because he feels that he was wrongly fined $5. 

We got to hear from two different sides of the argument, one side agreeing that Mann was not in the wrong, and the opposing side arguing that Mann was in the wrong and the $5 fine was the bare minimum.

As people were talking we began seeing and understanding that the court case was much more than a $5 fine, it began to un-blur the lines of the harsh realities of slavery, rights, and white southerners morality as a whole. 

Ultimately, Lydia is a slave; a slave holds no rights in court nor her master. Although Lydia was rented and Mann did not own her she is still considered property and at the point in time she was property of Mann. 

Many individuals got on the podium and spoke their piece on the situation. Many spoke against Lydia being a piece of property and Mann was in the wrong as well as many people speaking that Lydia is a piece of property and Mann was not in the wrong. 

Similarity to the real case, the court declared that slaves had no rights from their masters.

Although many people were disappointed, that was the harsh realities for slaves in the 1800s.