Judge John Fox (1787-1849) of Bucks County heard a case of alleged voter fraud at the end of 1837, just as delegates at the Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention were trying to decide whether to allow African Americans to vote in their state. The case was brought by Bucks County Democrats who believed that African Americans had illegally cast the deciding votes that allowed local Whig candidates for county commissioner and auditor to defeat their Democrat opponents. This case is historically important because Fox’s opinion was cited by delegates at the Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention where the question of black suffrage was being debated.

Judge John Fox (1787-1849) of Bucks County heard a case of alleged voter fraud at the end of 1837, just as delegates at the Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention were trying to decide whether to allow African Americans to vote in their state. The case was brought by Bucks County Democrats who believed that African Americans had illegally cast the deciding votes that allowed local Whig candidates for county commissioner and auditor to defeat their Democrat opponents. This case is historically important because Fox’s opinion was cited by delegates at the Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention where the question of black suffrage was being debated.