John Van Zandt

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

Background

While living in Evendale, Ohio, Van Zandt often illegally harbored slaves in the basement of his house and helped them escape to the North. In the 1840s, he was caught. He was excommunicated from the Sharon Methodist Episcopal Church, which had already joined the Southern portion of the national congregations, although he was a trustee and had helped found it. They judged his anti-slavery activities to be "immoral and un-Christian conduct." Despite this, he continued to harbor slaves, but was caught again.