Donnell v. State, 1852
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GwynEvie
N 39° 20.253 W 085° 29.008
16S E 630696 N 4355332
This IHM describes a landmark court case that had implications for fugitive slaves and the Underground Railroad.
Waymark Code: WM6NXK
Location: Indiana, United States
Date Posted: 06/28/2009
Views: 10
This IHM stands on the north side of the Decatur County Court House in Greensburg. It describes a landmark case that began in the Decatur County courts and eventually reached the state supreme court. The full text reads:
Side 1-
"Luther Donnell was convicted in Decatur Circuit Court (1849) of aiding fugitive slaves, Caroline and her four children, to escape to Canada. In Donnell v. State, Indiana Supreme Court reversed the conviction, claiming that under U.S. Supreme Court decision in Prigg v. Pennsylvania federal law superseded a state law regarding aid to fugitive slaves."
Side 2-
"Prigg, a pro-slavery decision, was used in this case and elsewhere to benefit the anti-slavery cause. The Underground Railroad refers to a widespread network of diverse people in the nineteenth century who aided slaves escaping to freedom from the southern U.S."
The marker was installed in 2007 by the Indiana Historical Bureau, Division of Historic Preservation & Archaeology, IDNR, and Decatur County Freedom Trails Association.
County: Decatur
Year Placed: 2007
Name: Donnell v. State, 1852
ID#: 1620071
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