Alejandro Gallegos

History
Lubisich
07/19/2016
Celia Chapter 3-5
The Newsom family, along with family friends and neighbors of the Newsoms, found it
peculiar they had not seen Robert the next morning. They searched the farm and roads and found
no trace of Robert Newsom. After coming up empty handed, members of the Newsom family
suggested that George, one of the slaves, could provide some useful information. Powell, the
Newsoms neighbor, began to question George about Roberts whereabouts. Because of the
nature of the questioning, George might of felt nervous for the sake of his life because of what he
had told Ceilia to confront Robert, and he replied, it was not worth while to hunt for him any
where except close around the house. His response was alarming to Powell because it suggested
he knew what had happened to Robert. Fueling to Powells suspicion and disregarding Ceilia's
saftey, George also pointed that he saw Newsom go to Ceilias cabin that night. The inquisition
then proceeded to question Celiia, where after multiple threats, she confessed what had
happened.
During this period, there were heated debates and large political movements amongst proslavery and anti-slavery demonstrators. Stories of slave revolts and violent acts towards white
families spread fear among counties. With all of these factors happening during this time and
since slaves were not seen as humans, I was very surprised in how fair Ceilia was treated leading
up to her case. She wasnt immediately lynched after confessing; instead she was jailed and
given a proper trail just like any other criminal trail. Under Missouri law, slaves accused of
capital crimes were entitled to a court-appointed attorney. The judge, William Augustus Hall, a

Maine born Unionist, appointed John Jameson, an experienced lawyer from Calloway County
that was seen as a fair man. Along with Jameson, Hall appointed two other lawyers to aid
Jameson; Nathan Chapman and Isaac M. Boulware. The two lawyers under Jameson where less
experienced yet highly educated. Ceilias defense team also had family members of their own
that included some members being around the same age as the sexual encounters Ceilia faced
from Newsom. Their personal relationship with their family might of gave sympathy towards
Celias situation. The jury was also chosen with very precise standards and there was very little
bias that can come from the trail. Because of the powerhouse of a legal team that the state chose
for Celia, the court very much treated her like a human instead of what was considered a slave. If
Celia was not seen as a regular human, they might of pushed for a quick, unfair trail by
appointing her a poor defense team and a biased jury. The importance to preserve the law of the
land trumped that of how society viewed slaves during the time period.