BENJAMIN BRADLEY
Name: Benjamin Bradley
Benjamin Bradley was born a slave in Maryland, around 1830. At the time, it was
against the law to teach a slave to read or write. Bradley was able to learn
anyway, perhaps taught by his master's children. Young Bradley was also good at
mathematics and showed a natural talent for making things.
As a teenager, Bradley was put to work in an office. At the age of 16, he built
a working steam engine from pieces of scrap metal. Others were so impressed with
Bradley's mechanical skills that he was given a job that made better use of his
talents. His new job was as an assistant in the science department at the United
States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. There, Bradley set up and helped
conduct experiments. Professors at the Naval Academy were impressed with Bradley.
They said he was smart and a quick learner, and did not make mistakes when he
prepared experiments in the laboratory. Bradley was paid for his work, but
because he was a slave, the money went to his master. The master allowed Bradley
to keep five dollars a month for himself.
Bradley had not forgotten his work with steam engines. He saved the money he
earned, and sold his original model engine to a student at the Academy. Bradley
then used his savings to develop and build an engine large enough to run the
first steam-powered warship.
Because he was a slave, Benjamin Bradley was not allowed to get a patent for the
engine he developed. He was, however, able to sell the engine and keep the money.
He used that money to buy his freedom. He lived the rest of his life as a free
person.
Benjamin Bradley's name appears in few books, perhaps because he was not able to
get a patent for his work. Just as there was disagreement over the issue of,
there was also disagreement over whether a slave should be allowed to hold a
patent. Some people said anyone who came up with an original idea should be
allowed to patent it. It should not matter whether that person was free or a
slave. Others said that, because he, a slave, was his or her master's property,
anything that a slave produced, including ideas, belonged to the master as well.
In 1857, however, a slave owner named Oscar Stewart applied for a patent on
something one of his slaves had invented. Stewart argued that he owned all the
results of his slave's labor, whether that work had been manual. Despite the
laws, the Patent Office agreed. The patent was granted, giving Stewart credit
for the invention. The slave who actually came up with the idea (a cotton-processing
device) is mentioned in the patent only as "Ned."
Because of the decision in the Stewart case, the patent law was changed to say
that a slave could not hold a patent. When the Confederate States broke away
from the United States in 1861, the Confederate government surprised many people
by once again allowing slaves to hold patents. After the Civil War, however, the
patent law was changed again, specifying that all people throughout the United
States had the right to patent their own inventions.
Name: Benjamin Bradley
Benjamin Bradley was born a slave in Maryland, around 1830. At the time, it was
against the law to teach a slave to read or write. Bradley was able to learn
anyway, perhaps taught by his master's children. Young Bradley was also good at
mathematics and showed a natural talent for making things.
As a teenager, Bradley was put to work in an office. At the age of 16, he built
a working steam engine from pieces of scrap metal. Others were so impressed with
Bradley's mechanical skills that he was given a job that made better use of his
talents. His new job was as an assistant in the science department at the United
States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. There, Bradley set up and helped
conduct experiments. Professors at the Naval Academy were impressed with Bradley.
They said he was smart and a quick learner, and did not make mistakes when he
prepared experiments in the laboratory. Bradley was paid for his work, but
because he was a slave, the money went to his master. The master allowed Bradley
to keep five dollars a month for himself.
Bradley had not forgotten his work with steam engines. He saved the money he
earned, and sold his original model engine to a student at the Academy. Bradley
then used his savings to develop and build an engine large enough to run the
first steam-powered warship.
Because he was a slave, Benjamin Bradley was not allowed to get a patent for the
engine he developed. He was, however, able to sell the engine and keep the money.
He used that money to buy his freedom. He lived the rest of his life as a free
person.
Benjamin Bradley's name appears in few books, perhaps because he was not able to
get a patent for his work. Just as there was disagreement over the issue of,
there was also disagreement over whether a slave should be allowed to hold a
patent. Some people said anyone who came up with an original idea should be
allowed to patent it. It should not matter whether that person was free or a
slave. Others said that, because he, a slave, was his or her master's property,
anything that a slave produced, including ideas, belonged to the master as well.
In 1857, however, a slave owner named Oscar Stewart applied for a patent on
something one of his slaves had invented. Stewart argued that he owned all the
results of his slave's labor, whether that work had been manual. Despite the
laws, the Patent Office agreed. The patent was granted, giving Stewart credit
for the invention. The slave who actually came up with the idea (a cotton-processing
device) is mentioned in the patent only as "Ned."
Because of the decision in the Stewart case, the patent law was changed to say
that a slave could not hold a patent. When the Confederate States broke away
from the United States in 1861, the Confederate government surprised many people
by once again allowing slaves to hold patents. After the Civil War, however, the
patent law was changed again, specifying that all people throughout the United
States had the right to patent their own inventions.