Search Results - Van Zandt, John 1954-

John Van Zandt

John Van Zandt (died 1847) was an American abolitionist who aided the Underground Railroad resistance movement in Ohio after he had been a slaveholder in Kentucky. Sued for monetary damages by a slaveholder whose escaped slaves he had aided, he was a party to ''Jones v. Van Zandt'' (1847), a case by which abolitionists intended to challenge the constitutionality of slavery. The US Supreme Court decided the case against Van Zandt and upheld the right of the US Congress and the obligation of the US government to protect slavery, as it was established under the US Constitution. Van Zandt was ruined financially by the decision and died later that year. Provided by Wikipedia