EOTO

For the classes first EOTO ( each one teach one ) The other half of the class was asked to study the famous State v. Mann case. This case was over John Mann, and his mistreatment of a female slave with the name Lydia. John Mann borrowed Lydia from another plantation. She was rented, and not his own slave. Mann asked Lydia for something that she refused to do, and she decided to run away from him. As she was running, he shot Lydia in the back but did not kill her. Though she was not killed, Mann was still faced with a fine of $10.

The State Arguments : Since Lydia was not Mann's own slave, she should have been returned undamaged. A law states that men were allowed to whip, torture, and brand their slaves but NOT kill them, and the shooting was an attempt at murder. Other slave owners had been put to death as their punishment because of similar acts, so the $10 was getting off easy in some peoples eyes. The bible tells us that man should not mistreat his slave.

John Manns Case : John argued that slavery is legal, and all he did was prevent a slave from running away. It was her fault that she refused to obey him, so he should have been allowed to shoot her. She disobeyed the North Carolina slave law, which is that slave masters must give slaves permission to leave. The bible tells us that black skin means you have a black soul. Slavery was legal in the state of North Carolina, so John Mann believed he had done nothing wrong. He was just keeping his slave from running away.

I believe that the state formed a stronger case than John Mann did. They presented more facts than John Mann could in my own opinion. Yes Mann did pay to rent Lydia from another plantation, but she was not his own slave. He needed to return her alive. Even though he did not kill her, there was an attempt too. The law clearly stated that killing your slaves was not legal.