Secretary of State Henry Clay enslaved Charlotte Dupuy in the 1820s. When Clay reached the end of his term, he rejected an appointment to the Supreme Court, opting instead to return home to his Kentucky estate. His decision gave Dupuy an ultimatum: freedom or enslavement forever?
Dupuy had accompanied Clay on his trips to Washington, D.C., so she was temporarily free under the law. She assumed she’d stay free since Clay was leaving Washington, but Clay had other ideas. Charlotte Dupuy sued Clay for freedom on February 13, 1829, refusing to be enslaved again.
The case was heard in 1830, but the court denied Charlotte Dupuy and her children freedom. Dupuy still refused to return to Kentucky and was jailed, but she wouldn’t give up.
It would take another decade for Charlotte Dupuy and her children to reach freedom. Henry Clay finally emancipated Dupuy and her daughter, Mary Ann, in 1840 and her son in 1848, who was sold under the condition that he be free by age 28.
To reach liberation, we must take advantage of every avenue and opportunity we can and never give up. It may have taken Dupuy a decade to attain freedom, but she did. Always fight, always have hope, and always keep going.