In the 1856 landmark case Mason v. Smith, Bridget “Biddy” Mason sued her master for her and her family’s freedom, a full year before the infamous Dred Scott v. Sandford decision. In the Dred Scott case, the court ruled that enslaved persons did not become free when brought to free states. Before that ruling, Bridget Mason’s owner, Robert Smith, transported his slaves to Salt Lake City and then on to San Bernardino, California, to establish a new Mormon community there. At the time, California was a free state, and free Black friends of Bridget’s encouraged her to legally contest her slave status. In December 1855, afraid that his slaves would be taken from him, Smith decided to move, transporting his slaves to Texas (a slave state) in order to protect his ownership. Continue reading THE BRIDGET “BIDDY” MASON CASE, 1856