Fugitive Slave - History

History

Fugitive slaves early in U.S. were sought out just as they were through the Fugitive slave law years, but early efforts included only Wanted posters, flyers etc.. After the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was passed, Bounty hunters and civilians could lawfully capture escaped slaves in the north, or any other place, and return them to the Slave master. Many escaped slaves upon return were to face harsh and horrid punishments such as amputation of limbs, whippings, branding, and many other horrible acts. Escaped slaves were not the only ones sought after during these ordeals, people who aided escapees were also punished by legal law as seen in the case of Ableman v. Booth, where Booth was charged with aiding Glover's escape by preventing his capture from Federal Marshals. Many states tried to nullify the new slave act or prevent capture of escaped slaves by setting up new laws to protect their rights. This is shown in many forms of law, but one most notable is the Massachusetts Liberty Act. This Act was passed in order to keep escaped slaves from being returned to their masters by stopping the abduction of Federal Marshals or bounty hunters. Also in the previously mentioned Supreme Court Case Ableman v. Booth, the actions that spurred the accused was the attempt of Wisconsin to rule The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 Unconstitutional.

When mere laws didn't suffice to aid abolitionists, they along with the slaves turned to drastic measures in order to undermine slave owners. Such ideas as the Underground Railroad, breaking work tools etc...were used to either silently get back at them or just flat out stop slavery. Breaking work tools was a common way for slaves to get back at their masters. By impeding the work they could do it also halted the amount of money that could be made off that slave by the master. The Underground Railroad is probably one of the most well known ways that abolitionists aided slaves out of the south and into northern states. In this manner the slaves would go from house to house of either whites or freed blacks where they would receive shelter, food, clothing etc..

Now when the slaves were found gone, most masters did everything they could to find their lost “property.” Flyers would be put up, posses to find him/her would be sent out, and under the new Fugitive slave Act they could now send federal marshals into the north to extract them. This new law also brought up bounty hunters to the game of returning slaves to their masters, even if the “slave” had already been freed he could be brought back into the south to be sold back into slavery if he/ she was without their freedom papers. In 1851 there was a case of a Black Coffee house waiter who was snatched by Federal Marshals on behalf of John Debree who claimed the man to be his property. Even though the man had escaped earlier, his case was brought before the Massachusetts supreme court to be tried.

The Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of abolitionists between 1816 and 1860 who helped fugitive slaves escape to freedom. The Religious Society of Friends(Quakers,) Baptists, Methodists and other religious sects helped in operating the Underground Railroad. Notable people who used the Underground Railroad include:

• Anderson Ruffin Abbott
• Henry "Box" Brown
• Levi Coffin
• Frederick Douglass
• Calvin Fairbank
• Thomas Garrett
• William Lloyd Garrison
• Samuel Green
• Josiah Bushnell Grinnell
• Josiah Henson
• Isaac Hopper
• Roger Hooker Leavitt
• Samuel J. May
• John Parker
• John Wesley Posey
• John Rankin
• Alexander Milton Ross
• David Ruggles
• Samuel Seawell
• William Still
• Sojourner Truth
• Harriet Tubman
• Charles Augustus Wheaton