Luke Decker and Slavery: His Cases with Bob and Anthony, 1817-1822
Luke Decker and Slavery: His Cases with Bob and Anthony, 1817-1822 Merrily Pierce" Luke Decker, farmer, judge, and militia officer, owned and traded slaves in the Northwest Territory, Indiana Territory, and the state of Indiana despite laws prohibiting such practices. As a member of the proslavery element in the Old Northwest, Decker encouraged the establishment of slavery in the territory, a plan that nearly succeeded under Indiana Territorial Governor William Henry Harrison. By the time Indiana Territory was ready for statehood in 1816, however, settlers against slavery outnumbered those, like Decker, who supported it. The institution was outlawed by the 1816 state Constitution, but slavery did not die out. In Knox County, where Decker resided arid slavery was concentrated, some slave owners continued to hold slaves, believing that the Consti- tution was not retroactive. In July, 1816, barely a month after the Indiana Constitution was written, two of Decker's slaves-Bob, nominally an indentured servant, and Anthony, a slave for life-escaped from his possession and fled to Orange County, a Quaker stronghold in the southern part of the state. Decker pursued his slaves and had them cap- tured. Confronted by the Quaker-influenced court in Paoli, he used all of his influence in his determination to regain possession of the two men. Decker's cases were before the court for five years, from 1817 to 1822. Summaries of the court proceedings in early county his- tories and in other accounts attest to their importance.' A study of * Merrily Pierce, a former aquatic biologist, is currently serving as a staff aide for transportation, environment, and parks to the chairman of the Board of Super- visors, Fairfax County, Virginia.
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