Quote via Bernhard
“Sir…I owe no allegiance to any men or set of men on earth, save only to the State of North Carolina, and, so far as she has parted with her sovereignty, to the United States of America.” --Judge *William Gaston*In 1833, Gaston was elected by the legislature to the North Carolina Supreme Court. Although a slaveholder, Gaston surprisingly supported abolition efforts.
In the case of **State v. Negro Will (1834), the Tar Heel jurist ruled that a slave had a right to defend himself if his master attacked him without justification. (The culprit wasn't the master, but the overseer. My GG defended Will and this was a landmark decision since it was the first time in the country that a slave was recognized with the right to defend himself against assault. Will killed him and was sentenced to prison, but not death which had always been the case previously.)**
State V The Slave Will 1834, My G, G Grandfather Wins 
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