Mason v. Smith
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Mason v. Smith
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Document Text
https://doi.org/10.3735/9781935306641.book-part-027

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Abstract

The issue of slavery in California was fraught with difficulty from the moment it became a territory, and soon a state, following the U.S. War with Mexico (1846–48). While the state constitution stated that “neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, unless for punishment of a crime, shall ever be tolerated,” in practice slavery was not only accepted but often protected by law. For example, a Black person had no ability to testify in court in California, meaning enslaved people could not speak in their own defense to claim that their California constitutional rights had been violated. Nevertheless, a legal corner was turned in 1856.

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