Walker v. Jennison decision frees an enslaved man in Worcester.

Court of Common Pleas in Worcester frees Quock Walker, 28, from enslavement by Nathaniel Jennison in Barre. In his instructions to the jury, Judge William Cushing had declared, “Perpetual servitude can no longer be tolerated in our government, and . . . liberty can only be forfeited by some criminal conduct or relinquished by personal consent or contract.” The decision is upheld by a higher court 1783.*