Select Item below to DOWNLOAD - Once item is selected, right click and choose 'save as'
e9414990d8d040e9b4242985516987e1
Fugitive Slave Law warning poster, Boston African American National Historic Site, 1851.
On September 18, 1850, the Fugitive Slave Law or Fugitive Slave Act was passed by the United States Congress. This law allowed US Federal Marshals to take fugitive slaves from northern states regardless of established jobs, families or property. This law also put anyone aiding a fugitive at risk because if caught they would be fined $1,000 (which is roughly $28,000 today) and face 6-months of jail time. The Fugitive Slave Law led to mass protest by many northerners who believed that the influence of the slave power of the federal government was overwhelming. Because of this, cities like Boston began to utilize vigilante justice as an avenue of resistance. Militant abolitionism led to fugitives being rescued, armed patrols in the streets and the death of federal marshals. As Frederick Douglass stated in 1852: "The only way to make the Fugitive Slave Law a dead letter is to make half a dozen or more dead kidnappers."
U.S. National Park Service
Permission must be secured from the individual copyright owners to reproduce any copyrighted materials contained within this website.
Public domain
Image
Boston African American National Historic Site, Code: BOAF
20150818
08/18/1851
Organization: Boston African American National Historical Site
Address: 15 State Street, 9th Floor, Boston, MA 02109
Address: 15 State Street, 9th Floor, Boston, MA 02109
Thursday, December 8, 2016 7:20:53 PM
Thursday, August 10, 2017 11:47:17 AM
sign.jpg
Monday, January 1, 0001 12:00:00 AM
jpg
102.1 kB
Scenic