Elizabeth Freeman & the Constitution
How can people use the words of a law to challenge injustice?
Start here · grades 3–5
A promise in 1780
A constitution sets out how government works and names important rights. John Adams helped write the Massachusetts Constitution of 1780. Its original Declaration of Rights said “all men are born free and equal.” Yet people were still enslaved in Massachusetts.
Elizabeth Freeman acted
In 1781, an enslaved woman then called Bett and a man called Brom brought a freedom suit. With lawyer Theodore Sedgwick, they challenged their enslavement and won. Bett later used the name Elizabeth Freeman. Her action helped turn a written promise into a real change in someone’s life.
More than one case
Quock Walker also challenged enslavement. Court decisions in 1783 treated slavery as incompatible with the state constitution. This was a process involving people and cases, not a single national law ending slavery. Racism and unequal opportunities continued.
Two constitutions; two Adamses
The Massachusetts Constitution dates to 1780. The United States Constitution was written in 1787. John Adams was Elizabeth Freeman’s contemporary. His son John Quincy Adams later helped argue the Amistad case in 1841. Keep these people and dates separate!
Put the evidence in time
Choose the earliest event.
Explore the Massachusetts ConstitutionSources, grown-up reading & teaching notes
- Massachusetts courts: the Constitution and abolition ↗
- Massachusetts: John Adams and the original constitutional text ↗
These are original reading companions. Follow the sources to check a claim. External pages and recordings keep their own languages.