The Princeton Fugitive Slave

Lolita Buckner Inniss

Lolita Buckner Inniss

The Princeton Fugitive Slave

The Trials of James Collins Johnson

Fordham University Press | 2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9780823285365

Overview
Contents

About this book

James Collins Johnson was an escaped slave working at Princeton University in 1843 when he was arrested and tried as a fugitive. Though convicted and slated for return to slavery, he was redeemed by a local white woman. Johnson became one of the best-known vendors at Princeton over his six-decade career. This book challenges this uncomplicated account of Johnson’s life.

Author information

InnissLolita Buckner:

Lolita Buckner Inniss, J.D., LL.M., Ph.D., is a professor at Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, where she is a Robert G. Storey Distinguished Faculty Fellow. Her research addresses historic, geographic, metaphoric, and visual norms of law, especially in the context of race, gender, and comparative constitutionalism.Lolita Buckner Inniss, J.D., LL.M., Ph.D., is a professor at Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, where she is a Robert G. Storey Distinguished Faculty Fellow. Her research addresses historic, geographic, metaphoric, and visual norms of law, especially in the context of race, gender, and comparative constitutionalism.

Reviews

Collectively, Inniss's work provides an exciting model for future scholars of slavery and labor. Perhaps most importantly, Inniss skillfully and compassionately restores Johnson's voice to his own historical narrative.

Shane White, author of Prince of Darkness: The Untold Story of Jeremiah G. Hamilton, Wall Street's First Black Millionaire:
The Princeton Fugitive Slave is fascinating historical detective work. Lolita Buckner Inniss has recovered the journey of James Collins Johnson from his youth as a slave on the Maryland Eastern Shore to his life as a free man in Princeton. Deeply researched, the book overturns any lingering idea that Princeton was a haven from the broader society. Johnson had to cope with the casual racism of students, occasional eruptions of racial violence in town and the ubiquitous use of the N-word by even the supposedly educated. This book contributes to our understanding of slavery’s legacy today.

James H. Johnston, author of From Slave Ship to Harvard: Yarrow Mamout and the History of an African American Family:
A rare story. James Collins Johnson was a legend among Princeton students, and Inniss provides enriching detail to explain what slave life was like, the difficulties of escape, the practical operation of the fugitive slave law, and why an owner would bother to seek a slave’s return four years after he left. Johnson’s saga is one example of the hurdles faced by fugitive slaves and of race relations in the 19th century in slave-holding Maryland and the free state of New Jersey.

Frontmatter Free access PDF PDF	i
Contents Free access PDF PDF	v
Preface Free access PDF PDF	vii
Timeline Free access PDF PDF	xxiii
Introduction Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	1
1 James Collins of Maryland, and His Escape from Slavery Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	13
2 Princeton Slavery, Princeton Freedom Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	37
3 The Betrayal and Arrest of James Collins Johnson Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	57
4 The Fugitive Slave Trial of James Collins Johnson Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	68
5 The Rescue of James Collins Johnson Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	84
6 Johnson’s Princeton Life after the Trial Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	100
Conclusion Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	129
Acknowledgments Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	133
Notes Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	137
Bibliography Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	205
Index Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	229

The Princeton Fugitive Slave

The Trials of James Collins Johnson

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