A group of abolitionists in Minneapolis persuades Judge Charles E. Vanderburgh to issue a writ of habeas corpus or an order to bring to court Eliza Winston, an enslaved woman of a visiting southern family. Vanderburgh then declares her to be free, as she is living in a free state. Her freedom provides a boost to the antislavery cause at the same time that it discourages Southerners from traveling to Minnesota, much to the dismay of the state's tourism industry.