Slavery was already illegal in Massachusetts when Harvard made the daguerreotypes in 1850

Evidence

When Harvard commissioned the daguerreotypes, slavery was an illegal act, abolished by the commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1783. In a suit brought by Quock Walker, Chief Justice William Cushing of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court explained that slavery was abolished by the new state constitution, which had rendered slavery illegal because “all men are born free and equal.” He concluded that slavery was “inconsistent with our own conduct and constitution.” Thus, when Harvard commissioned the daguerreotypes via Agassiz, their employee, later in 1850, it was illegal to do so. — Tamara Lanier, From These Roots, 854

When Harvard commissioned the daguerreotypes, slavery was an illegal act, abolished by the commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1783. In a suit brought by Quock Walker, Chief Justice William Cushing of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court explained that slavery was abolished by the new state constitution, which had rendered slavery illegal because “all men are born free and equal.” He concluded that slavery was “inconsistent with our own conduct and constitution.” Thus, when Harvard commissioned the daguerreotypes via Agassiz, their employee, later in 1850, it was illegal to do so. — Tamara Lanier, From These Roots, 854

Categorization

• SEED: The Quock Walker case anchoring the illegality framing is a strong precedent angle for how institutions held stolen property despite their own state’s abolition.
• XREF: Quock Walker v. Massachusetts is the same abolition precedent known from foundational constitutional history — useful cross-check.
• DEFINE: Establishes the doctrinal foundation that the commissioned photographs were themselves illegal acts under Massachusetts common law.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Tamara Lanier, From These Roots: My Fight with Harvard…, 854