Without a Voice: The Trial of Bill Anderson, and His Fight for Freedom at the Birth of the Civil Rights Movement in Marion, Ohio 1839.
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Date
2025-05
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The Ohio State University
Abstract
In 1839 Bill Anderson a runaway slave traveled to Marion, Ohio and asserted that he was a free man. Before long, men from Virginia came to capture Bill and return him to slavery. But the Black Laws of Ohio required a court trial for Bill to prove his ownership. Over 150 people came to Marion to hear the trial, and a surprising verdict set off a mob riot in the streets of Marion. Most people in Marion have not heard of this important event that happened at the beginning of the Civil Rights movement, as this history was lost to a small plaque at the Marion Courthouse, with inaccurate facts. This new research focuses on Bill Anderson life, his perspective, his power, and influence, and provides new insight into the role of Ohio Black communities in its support of the Underground Railroad, the intense debates among Ohioans over their Black Laws, growing influence of abolitionism, and the problematic ways that later historians interpreted this event as an example of white heroism.
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Keywords
Marion, Ohio, Slavery, Underground Railroad, Black Laws, Mob Riot, Black Communities