Washington Goode
Encyclopedia
Washington Goode was an African American sailor who was hanged for murder in Boston in May of 1849. His case was the subject of considerable attention by those opposed to the death penalty, resulting in over 24,000 signatures on petitions for clemency to Massachusetts governor, George N. Briggs
. His trial was presided over by Justice Lemuel Shaw
who the following year would sentence Professor John White Webster
to death for the murder of Harvard Medical School benefactor, Dr. George Parkman
, another trial that would capture Boston's imagination and blur the lines of distinction between opponents and advocates of capital punishment. Goode's trial was reported widely in the newspapers, including the Tioga Eagle of June 13, 1849, published in Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, which carried a brief notice of his hanging:
. He lived for a time in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania
. Goode reportedly fought for General Zachary Taylor
who would eventually become the twelfth president of the United States
in the Florida war. There is some discrepancy to the date and place of Goode's birth. While Goode claimed to have been born in Pennsylvania, his uncle George Myres claimed that Goode was born in Baltimore, Maryland and was 28 years of age in 1849 which would have made his birth year 1821. His uncle also claimed that 15 year old Washington accompanied him to Boston
in 1836 and after settling among the city's small black population, began working as a servant on board ships that sailed from Boston
. Myers rarely saw his nephew while he was in port in Boston as Goode preferred to hang out in the North End section of Boston known as the "Black Sea".
By 1848, Goode was a seaman who had reportedly served as second cook on board the steamer William J. Pease and also as a cook aboard the barque Nancoockee. While in port in Boston, it was known that Goode was friends with Mary Ann Williams who he considered to be his girlfriend although she was married. At the same time, another black seaman, Thomas Harding was friends with Williams and also considered her to be his girlfriend. On the night of Wednesday, June 28, 1848, an argument broke out between Thomas Harding and Washington Goode regarding a handkerchief that Harding had given to Williams. Sometime thereafter, Thomas Harding was dead of a blow to the head and a knife wound between the ribs. Washington Goode was promptly arrested for the murder of his fellow seaman.
, one of the most influential jurists in nineteenth-century America. The evidence used by District Attorney Samuel D. Parker to build his case against Goode was largely cirmcumstantial. Although no one saw Goode crack Harding's skull or stab him between the ribs, several witnesses at the trial testified that they saw a person fitting Goode's description in the area of the crime. Also, when he was arrested Goode had in his possession a knife whose blade measured ten or eleven inches. Harding's stab wound was measured at nine inches deep. Goode was defended by two young distinguished attorneys, William Aspinwall (who had not previously defended a capital case) while Edgar F. Hodges assisted Aspinwall. The two attorneys argued that their client was innocent, denouncing the testimony of the prosecution's witnesses and casting doubt on the circumstantial evidence presented by Samuel Parker. In his closing argument, Hodges began to discuss the inappropriateness of capital punishment
in Massachusetts when Parker objected and was told by Chief Justice Shaw that he was out of order to discuss the appropriateness of justice of the death penalty. The jury deliberated for only thirty-five minutes before finding Goode guilty of murder and on January 15, 1849 he was sentenced to death by Chief Justice Shaw. He was to be hanged on May 25, 1849.
, Charles Spear, Walter Channing
, Samuel May, Robert Rantoul, Jr.
, Ellis Gray Loring, James Freeman Clarke
, Frederick Douglass
, and other politicians, ministers and reformers. One such meeting was chaired by Amasa Walker
and took place on Good Friday April 6, 1849 at the Tremont Temple
. Attendees of the meeting were addressed by several prominent figures of the time including Reverend William H. Channing, Wendell Phillips and Reverend James Freeman Clarke. Each speaker implored attendees of the meeting to sign a petition to have Goode's death sentence commuted on the grounds that society, by its neglect, prejudice, and injustice, had in fact made Goode into a murderer and was now using him as an example.
While others who had been given the same sentence had already been pardoned, Goode's sentence was still scheduled to be carried out even though the evidence presented against him was not clear and conclusive. Committee meetings were held in all the principal towns throughout the state to collect signatures from those who opposed Goode's impending execution. More than twenty four thousand signatures were obtained. In all, 130 petitions from Massachusetts communities were compiled.
One such document entitled the "Protest of 400 inhabitants of Concord against the execution of Washington Goode" is being preserved in the materials of the Thoreau Institute at Walden Woods http://www.walden.org/institute/thoreauupdate/thoreauupdate2005spring.htm as a document of vital historical interest in the history of human rights. In the effort to save Washington Goode from execution, 400 citizens of Concord, Massachusetts-including Henry David Thoreau
, two of his sisters-Sophia Thoreau and Helen D. Thoreau, his mother-Cynthia D. Thoreau as well as Ralph Waldo Emerson
signed the petition now known as the "Prostest of 400...against the execution of Washington Goode."
William Lloyd Garrison
editor of The Liberator also became involved in the debate over the commutation of Goode's death sentence. In The Liberator Garrison argued that the verdict relied on "circumstantial evidence of the most flimsy character..." and feared that the determination of the government to uphold its decision to execute Goode was based on race. As all other death sentences since 1836 in Boston had been commuted, Garrison concluded that Goode would be the last person executed in Boston for a capital offense writing, "Let it not be said that the last man Massachusetts bore to hang was a colored man!" Parker Pillsbury
also used the pages of a prominent newspaper, the Semi-Weekly Republican as well as The Liberator to plead for commutation of Goode's sentence. The activists involved in the protest relied heavily on the question of race to play a large role in saving Goode from the gallows. Through his case, reformers not only sought to express their opposition to the death penalty but also to racism.
Despite the powerful and numerous appeals to spare Goode's life including an application by his counsel to commute his sentence, Governor George N. Briggs
adamantly refused to commute Goode's death sentence. Washington Goode's execution marked a turning point in the early nineteenth-century campaign to abolish the death penalty in Massachusetts. Since no person had been hanged in Boston since 1836, those opposed to the death penalty thought this showed a shift in the public's attitude away from capital punishment. However, Goode was to be hanged as scheduled on May 25. Distressed and disappointed reformers concluded that Goode was to be executed due to racial prejudice and orthodox religion.
. At 9:45am Goode was placed still strapped to the chair on the platform over the drop, the sheriff placed a white hood over his head and the rope was adjusted around his neck. The sheriff then read the warrant signed by the Governor after which the trap door sprang open and Goode plunged several feet. Twenty-five minutes later, doctors examined the body and pronounced him dead. His body was then turned over to his uncle George Myres who took his body back to his house to prepare for the funeral. Perhaps as a testament to their continued opposition to the death penalty, over one thousand people paraded through the tenement where Goode's body laid, escorting it to the South Burying Ground
where it was laid to rest in one of the city's tombs.
George N. Briggs
George Nixon Briggs was a member of the Whig Party and served seven-terms as the 19th Governor of the U.S. state of Massachusetts, serving from 1844 to 1851.-Early life and education:...
. His trial was presided over by Justice Lemuel Shaw
Lemuel Shaw
Lemuel Shaw was an American jurist who served as Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court...
who the following year would sentence Professor John White Webster
John White Webster
John White Webster , born in Boston, Massachusetts, was a professor of chemistry and geology at Harvard Medical College...
to death for the murder of Harvard Medical School benefactor, Dr. George Parkman
George Parkman
George Parkman , a Boston Brahmin , belonged to one of Boston's richest families...
, another trial that would capture Boston's imagination and blur the lines of distinction between opponents and advocates of capital punishment. Goode's trial was reported widely in the newspapers, including the Tioga Eagle of June 13, 1849, published in Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, which carried a brief notice of his hanging:
Washington Goode,a colored man, was hung
at Boston on Friday, for the murder of Thomas
Harding. He made a desperate attempt the
night previous to commit suicide by cutting the
veins of his arm with glass, and swallowing tobacco
and tarred rope. Goode was only 20 [sic]
years of age, and was with General Taylor
through all the Florida War. He protested
his innocence to the last.
Life
Washington Goode was born in 1820 in Mercersburg, PennsylvaniaMercersburg, Pennsylvania
Mercersburg is a borough in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, southwest of Harrisburg. Originally called Black Town, it was incorporated in 1831. In 1900, 956 people lived here, and in 1910, 1,410 people lived here...
. He lived for a time in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania
Chambersburg, Pennsylvania
Chambersburg is a borough in the South Central region of Pennsylvania, United States. It is miles north of Maryland and the Mason-Dixon line and southwest of Harrisburg in the Cumberland Valley, which is part of the Great Appalachian Valley. Chambersburg is the county seat of Franklin County...
. Goode reportedly fought for General Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor was the 12th President of the United States and an American military leader. Initially uninterested in politics, Taylor nonetheless ran as a Whig in the 1848 presidential election, defeating Lewis Cass...
who would eventually become the twelfth president of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the Florida war. There is some discrepancy to the date and place of Goode's birth. While Goode claimed to have been born in Pennsylvania, his uncle George Myres claimed that Goode was born in Baltimore, Maryland and was 28 years of age in 1849 which would have made his birth year 1821. His uncle also claimed that 15 year old Washington accompanied him to Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
in 1836 and after settling among the city's small black population, began working as a servant on board ships that sailed from Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
. Myers rarely saw his nephew while he was in port in Boston as Goode preferred to hang out in the North End section of Boston known as the "Black Sea".
By 1848, Goode was a seaman who had reportedly served as second cook on board the steamer William J. Pease and also as a cook aboard the barque Nancoockee. While in port in Boston, it was known that Goode was friends with Mary Ann Williams who he considered to be his girlfriend although she was married. At the same time, another black seaman, Thomas Harding was friends with Williams and also considered her to be his girlfriend. On the night of Wednesday, June 28, 1848, an argument broke out between Thomas Harding and Washington Goode regarding a handkerchief that Harding had given to Williams. Sometime thereafter, Thomas Harding was dead of a blow to the head and a knife wound between the ribs. Washington Goode was promptly arrested for the murder of his fellow seaman.
Trial
Washington Goode's trial began on January 1, 1849. As it was a capital case, it was tried before the Supreme Judicial Court presided over by Chief Justice Lemuel ShawLemuel Shaw
Lemuel Shaw was an American jurist who served as Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court...
, one of the most influential jurists in nineteenth-century America. The evidence used by District Attorney Samuel D. Parker to build his case against Goode was largely cirmcumstantial. Although no one saw Goode crack Harding's skull or stab him between the ribs, several witnesses at the trial testified that they saw a person fitting Goode's description in the area of the crime. Also, when he was arrested Goode had in his possession a knife whose blade measured ten or eleven inches. Harding's stab wound was measured at nine inches deep. Goode was defended by two young distinguished attorneys, William Aspinwall (who had not previously defended a capital case) while Edgar F. Hodges assisted Aspinwall. The two attorneys argued that their client was innocent, denouncing the testimony of the prosecution's witnesses and casting doubt on the circumstantial evidence presented by Samuel Parker. In his closing argument, Hodges began to discuss the inappropriateness of capital punishment
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
in Massachusetts when Parker objected and was told by Chief Justice Shaw that he was out of order to discuss the appropriateness of justice of the death penalty. The jury deliberated for only thirty-five minutes before finding Goode guilty of murder and on January 15, 1849 he was sentenced to death by Chief Justice Shaw. He was to be hanged on May 25, 1849.
Debate over capital punishment and petitions for clemency
Goode's case came about in the midst of a national debate over capital punishment and served as a rallying point for Boston's opponents of the death penalty who hoped to save Goode from the gallows. By most accounts, the community's opposition to the death penalty was solid and widespread. Meetings were held in several Massachusetts cities and towns in support of Washington Goode with a committee being appointed by the Massachusetts Society for the Abolition of Capital Punishment to advocate on his behalf. Those volunteering to serve on the committee included his attorneys Aspinwall and Hodges, as well as Wendell PhillipsWendell Phillips
Wendell Phillips was an American abolitionist, advocate for Native Americans, and orator. He was an exceptional orator and agitator, advocate and lawyer, writer and debater.-Education:...
, Charles Spear, Walter Channing
Walter Channing (physician)
Walter Channing was an American physician and professor of medicine.Born in Newport, Rhode Island, Channing entered Harvard in 1804, but left in 1807 on account of the “rebellion” of that year, and afterward received his degree out of course...
, Samuel May, Robert Rantoul, Jr.
Robert Rantoul, Jr.
Robert Rantoul, Jr. was an American politician from Massachusetts.He was born in Beverly, Massachusetts. He attended the common schools and Phillips Andover Academy and graduated from Harvard University in 1826...
, Ellis Gray Loring, James Freeman Clarke
James Freeman Clarke
James Freeman Clarke , an American theologian and author.-Biography:Born in Hanover, New Hampshire, James Freeman Clarke attended the Boston Latin School, graduated from Harvard College in 1829, and Harvard Divinity School in 1833...
, Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass was an American social reformer, orator, writer and statesman. After escaping from slavery, he became a leader of the abolitionist movement, gaining note for his dazzling oratory and incisive antislavery writing...
, and other politicians, ministers and reformers. One such meeting was chaired by Amasa Walker
Amasa Walker
Amasa Walker was an American economist and United States Representative, and was the father of Francis Amasa Walker.-Biography:...
and took place on Good Friday April 6, 1849 at the Tremont Temple
Tremont Temple
The Tremont Temple on 88 Tremont Street is a Baptist church in Boston, affiliated with the American Baptist Churches, USA. The existing structure opened in May 1896 and was designed by architect Clarence Blackall.-History:...
. Attendees of the meeting were addressed by several prominent figures of the time including Reverend William H. Channing, Wendell Phillips and Reverend James Freeman Clarke. Each speaker implored attendees of the meeting to sign a petition to have Goode's death sentence commuted on the grounds that society, by its neglect, prejudice, and injustice, had in fact made Goode into a murderer and was now using him as an example.
While others who had been given the same sentence had already been pardoned, Goode's sentence was still scheduled to be carried out even though the evidence presented against him was not clear and conclusive. Committee meetings were held in all the principal towns throughout the state to collect signatures from those who opposed Goode's impending execution. More than twenty four thousand signatures were obtained. In all, 130 petitions from Massachusetts communities were compiled.
One such document entitled the "Protest of 400 inhabitants of Concord against the execution of Washington Goode" is being preserved in the materials of the Thoreau Institute at Walden Woods http://www.walden.org/institute/thoreauupdate/thoreauupdate2005spring.htm as a document of vital historical interest in the history of human rights. In the effort to save Washington Goode from execution, 400 citizens of Concord, Massachusetts-including Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau was an American author, poet, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, historian, and leading transcendentalist...
, two of his sisters-Sophia Thoreau and Helen D. Thoreau, his mother-Cynthia D. Thoreau as well as Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century...
signed the petition now known as the "Prostest of 400...against the execution of Washington Goode."
William Lloyd Garrison
William Lloyd Garrison
William Lloyd Garrison was a prominent American abolitionist, journalist, and social reformer. He is best known as the editor of the abolitionist newspaper The Liberator, and as one of the founders of the American Anti-Slavery Society, he promoted "immediate emancipation" of slaves in the United...
editor of The Liberator also became involved in the debate over the commutation of Goode's death sentence. In The Liberator Garrison argued that the verdict relied on "circumstantial evidence of the most flimsy character..." and feared that the determination of the government to uphold its decision to execute Goode was based on race. As all other death sentences since 1836 in Boston had been commuted, Garrison concluded that Goode would be the last person executed in Boston for a capital offense writing, "Let it not be said that the last man Massachusetts bore to hang was a colored man!" Parker Pillsbury
Parker Pillsbury
Parker Pillsbury was an American minister and advocate for abolition and women's rights.Pillsbury was born in Hamilton, Massachusetts...
also used the pages of a prominent newspaper, the Semi-Weekly Republican as well as The Liberator to plead for commutation of Goode's sentence. The activists involved in the protest relied heavily on the question of race to play a large role in saving Goode from the gallows. Through his case, reformers not only sought to express their opposition to the death penalty but also to racism.
Despite the powerful and numerous appeals to spare Goode's life including an application by his counsel to commute his sentence, Governor George N. Briggs
George N. Briggs
George Nixon Briggs was a member of the Whig Party and served seven-terms as the 19th Governor of the U.S. state of Massachusetts, serving from 1844 to 1851.-Early life and education:...
adamantly refused to commute Goode's death sentence. Washington Goode's execution marked a turning point in the early nineteenth-century campaign to abolish the death penalty in Massachusetts. Since no person had been hanged in Boston since 1836, those opposed to the death penalty thought this showed a shift in the public's attitude away from capital punishment. However, Goode was to be hanged as scheduled on May 25. Distressed and disappointed reformers concluded that Goode was to be executed due to racial prejudice and orthodox religion.
Hanging
In the days before the scheduled hanging, Goode repeatedly professed his innocence to the clergymen who entered his prison cell. On the night before the hanging, Goode attempted suicide by swallowing large pieces of tobacco and paper and slashing the veins in his arms with a piece of glass. When the prison guards entered his cell, he had already lost a considerable amount of blood. However, the prison doctor stopped the bleeding thus saving his life so that he could suffer a more terrible death the next day. Exhausted and weakened by the loss of blood, Goode was carried to the gallows at 9:30am on May 25, by prison guards who had strapped him to a chair. A large crowd had gathered in the rain to watch the gruesome event that took place inside the walls of the Leverett Street JailLeverett Street Jail
The Leverett Street Jail in Boston, Massachusetts served as the city and county prison for some three decades in the mid-19th century. Inmates included John White Webster...
. At 9:45am Goode was placed still strapped to the chair on the platform over the drop, the sheriff placed a white hood over his head and the rope was adjusted around his neck. The sheriff then read the warrant signed by the Governor after which the trap door sprang open and Goode plunged several feet. Twenty-five minutes later, doctors examined the body and pronounced him dead. His body was then turned over to his uncle George Myres who took his body back to his house to prepare for the funeral. Perhaps as a testament to their continued opposition to the death penalty, over one thousand people paraded through the tenement where Goode's body laid, escorting it to the South Burying Ground
South Burying Ground
The South Burying Ground, also known as Winchester Street Cemetery, or Evergreen Cemetery, is an historic cemetery located on Winchester Street in the village of Newton Highlands, in the city of Newton, Massachusetts and...
where it was laid to rest in one of the city's tombs.