"The air of England has long been too pure for a slave, and every man is free who breathes it."
— History of slavery

January 1, 1970

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Slavery
Original Language: English

Sources

Lord Mansfield (d. 1793), said in the case of a negro, James Somersett, carried from Africa to Jamaica and sold. Cf. Capel Lofft, Reports, p. 2. Margrave's Argument (14 May 1772); Lord Campbell, Lives of the Chief Justices, vol. 2 (1849), p. 418. Reported in Hoyt's New Cyclopedia of Practical Quotations (1922), pp. 715–16.