This episode begins with a single powerful question that once unsettled the American colonies: Is it right to enslave a man because of his race? The man who asked it, James Otis, a lawyer from Boston, did not set out to start a moral revolution. He stood in a courtroom in 1761 and argued against government overreach; his argument went against Writs of Assistance—open-ended search warrants.
His case led him to a deeper truth. If liberty is grounded in natural rights, then those rights must extend to all people. From this insight emerged his challenging question: Is it right to enslave a man because he is black?
Otis’s words did not change the law, but they changed the conversation. In the years that followed, freedom suits appeared in Massachusetts. Jenny Slew, Elizabeth Freeman, and Quock Walker used the language of natural rights to claim their liberty.
Meanwhile, the founding documents of the new nation—the Declaration of Independence, the Massachusetts Constitution, the Northwest Ordinance, and even “We the People”—reflected the same tension: soaring language of liberty next to the reality of slavery.
We end with Benjamin Franklin’s image of the rising sun, a reminder that every generation must decide whether its principles will rise or fall. Otis’s question still matters. It is not only a question about history; it is a question for each of us.
Personal Reflection
Where do I need moral Clarity? In work, in Relationships, in responsibility, in community. One powerful question can stir a nation — and awaken a life. Is it right?
Contact Information
Have a story, a question, or a possibility you’re exploring? Email Dr. Middleton: [email protected] Free from Emotional Distress: A Practical Guide and Personal Journey by Stephen Middleton is available on Amazon
I grew up in a rural community in South Carolina. My father was a general laborer, and he, along with my mother and their eight children, were sharecroppers. I am their sixth child, and I spent my formative years picking cotton and plowing with a mule. I gained a burst of insight when I was 15 years old from an internal consciousness that told him I could do better with his life. I heeded the inspiration and enrolled in college, graduating with honors. I earned a Master of Arts from The Ohio State University and a doctorate from Miami University (Ohio). I received a Golieb post-doctoral fellowship from the New York University School of Law, where I enrolled in the first-year curriculum and the Legal History Seminar. I began teaching at Wilberforce University in Ohio. I also taught at the University of Cincinnati and was a long-time constitutional history professor at North Carolina State University. I was the inaugural director of the African American Studies Program at Mississippi State University. I have lectured and presented scholarly papers in the United States, Canada, and Europe. I presented at the American Society of Legal History, the British Legal History Association, the Southern Historical Association, and the Association of African American Life and History. I have lectured at the University of Washington, Cambridge University, and Keele University in the United Kingdom. My scholarly endeavors have taken me to three African countries, including Ghana, where the University of Ghana boasts an African Studies program.
As a speaker and workshop facilitator, I presented “Four Elements of Progressive Constitutionalism” in the Amicus Curiae Lecture series at Marshall University (2012); “Abraham Lincoln and Executive War Powers,” Wilmington College (2013); “Reconstruction and the Politics of Expedience,” Old Capitol Museum in Jackson, MS (2015); and facilitated teachers at summer seminars for the National Endowment for the Humanities at Georgia State University in 2016 and 2018.
Now retired from academic work, I am the founder of The Possibility-Action Network and host of The Possibility-Action Network Podcast. I am a speaker, transformational coach, and social entrepreneur.
