Back during the pandemic, I got a copy of "Dallam's Decisions." It’s a one-volume work with all the opinions of the short-lived Supreme Court of the Republic of Texas (1840-45, give or take). It’s fascinating stuff, some of that court’s work is terrible, and some is really insightful.
I wrote down some notes about the three cases from that court dealing with slavery, and recently got around to spinning those notes out into a short article.
That article just came out in the “Journal of the Texas Supreme Court Historical Society,” a link is here, starting on page 75. It looks at three cases, I think those cases offer some good insights about our world as well as the 1840s.