Celine written by Melton Mclaurin

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Celine Analysis
Celia, A Slave, authored by Melton McLaurin in 1991, is based on a true story of a person named Celia. Celia was a slave who was sexually molested after being bought by a resident of Missouri known as Robert Newson. Celia later killed her master four years after she as bought and burnt his body in her fireplace to destroy the evidence (McLaurin 31). This prompted for her trial, ultimately leading to her being sentenced to death by hanging for the crime.
The presiding judge, Willam Hallway, chose John Jameson for Celia’s defense because he wanted the trial to be conducted as decorously and expeditiously as possible as the issue of slavery was a hot topic at that time. Jameson was a highly regarded member of the society and had an exceptional reputation as a genial and competent member of the bar or legal community. The judge needed a person who was popular in the community as well as good in legal matters, and Jameson fit this description well. The judge also needed a person with proven political sensibility and one who had also not taken an active part in the debates of slavery. Even though he was also a slave owner, Jameson had abstained from making any personal contributions to the debate of slavery that was rampant at that time and instead decided to remain a neutral observer, supporting neither side of the debate. He was also a competent man in community affairs as he had represented Missouri in Congress for approximately three decades, making him easily acceptable by both sides of the slavery debate as a neutral party that would ensure that justice would be obtained without any favoritism of any side.

Jameson’s defense strategy involved directing more focus on the motive behind the actions of Celia, with more emphasis on sexual exploitation that she underwent in the hands of the slain master. Jameson put forth the argument that according to the law, she had the right to use force, including deadly force, in the bid to protect herself from being raped, despite having had a previous sexual relationship with Newson (McLaurin 87). The argument he presented was unconventional and exceptionally bold because the Missouri statute of the 1850s had only been created with the intention of defending white women from rape, especially by Black men. In Missouri in the 1850s, any form of sexual assault committed on a slave was taken as an act of trespass, meaning the owner of a slave could not be accused of trespassing on their personal property.
Despite the judge’s death sentence of execution for Celia, Jameson’s defense helped in challenging the system of slavery, not immediate, but eventually. One way that it did this was by causing the White Americans to start viewing black people and slaves as real human beings. The activism against slavery in the neighboring states was at its highest point, and the Black people from the other regions flocked to Missouri in support of Celia during her trial. Therefore, the defense helped in strengthening and solidifying the black movement against slavery in general. The defense strategy also brought into the light, various issues concerning racism, for instance, that the slave master in the South had too much power over their slaves, which was virtually unlimited. They had total control over their slaves who became subjects of abuse as they were considered property instead of human beings. This together with the law stating that no slave could testify against a white person in a court of law were highlighted into the public limelight, hence putting more vigor in the anti-slavery movement which eventually warns the war against slavery.

Work Cited
McLaurin, Melton. Celia A Slave. Atlanta: University of Georgia Press., 1991. Print