Polly Strong was born into slavery circa 1796 in the Northwest Territory, and Vincennes innkeeper Hyacinthe Lasselle purchased her circa 1806. Although the 1816 Indiana Constitution prohibited slavery and involuntary servitude, in 1820 Strong and attorney Amory Kinney had to pursue her freedom in the Knox County Circuit Court, which ruled that she remained enslaved. Strong appealed to the Indiana Supreme Court in Corydon, which ruled in State v. Lasselle on July 22, 1820, that “slavery can have no existence” in Indiana. This decision did not free the remaining slaves in Indiana, but it did establish the 1816 Indiana Constitution as the authority for decisions in Indiana courts regarding slavery and involuntary servitude, including the 1821 Mary Clark case.