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Massachusetts State Seal
Commonwealth Museum   Secretary of the Commonwealth William Francis Galvin
Commonwealth Museum Secretary of the Commonwealth William Francis Galvin

Free and Unequal


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“All men are bo rn fr ee and equal.”

– Declaration of Rights, Massachusetts Constitution of 178

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Slavery ended in Massachusetts when Mum Bett and Quock Walker brought separate lawsuits to win their freedom, citing language in the new state constitution.


Painted portrait of Mum Bett
Mum Bett, also known as Elizabeth Freeman

Seeking Restitution
Before it served as George Washington’s headquarters and poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s home, the wealthy Vassal family kept slaves at their Brattle Street mansion in Cambridge. Fellow Tory Isaac Royall owned plantations on the island of Antigua and held a large number of slaves at his Medford estate. Both families fled on the eve of the Revolution and former slaves submitted petitions to the Massachusetts government for redress.

A Modern Controversy
Seventy seven slaves were burned alive during a rebellion at the Royall’s property in Antigua. When Isaac Royall Jr. left Massachusetts for England, he felt an emotional tie to his former home. Royall donated money to Harvard College that helped establish a law school. Today the Harvard Law School seal reflects the Royall family crest. Currently there is a debate about its appropriateness.

Massachusetts Archives photo of Vassal House
Massachusetts Archives photo of Vassal House
- Massachusetts Archives
Restored slave quarters are shown to the right of the Royall House
Provincial elegance: the Vassal and Royall Houses. Restored slave quarters are shown to the right of the Royall House and are central to current interpretation of the site.
- Courtesy of Royall House and Slave Quarters
The Anthony and Cuba Vassal petition for help
Slavery at the Vassal House: In old age Anthony and Cuba Vassal petitioned for help: “The land your petitioners now improve is not suffi cient to supply them with such vegetables as are necessary for their family.” In a second document John Hancock approves the payment of twelve pounds for each.  
- Massachusetts Archives
A petition submitted by Belinda to the Massachusetts government
“Belinda,” a former slave on the Isaac Royall estate, submitted several petitions to the Massachusetts government. She had been captured in Ghana at the age of 12. Because of “age and infirmity” she was awarded “fifteen pounds twelve shillings per annum” from the Royall estate. This 1785 document shows that the promised “maintenance” was not received each year.  
Massachusetts Archives

Cruel and Unusual
After the Revolution, James and Thomas Handasyd Perkins made a fortune trading with China. Earlier, as slave traders, they told agents not to take infants since they were diffi cult to sell.