The Fugitive Slave Bill

Object Details

Written by: United States Congress, American, founded 1789
Subject of: Millard Fillmore, American, 1800 - 1874; Anthony Burns, American, 1834 - 1862; Thomas Sims, American, born ca. 1834

Caption: This printing of the Fugitive Slave Bill was sponsored by anti-slavery groups as a protest against the new law that required local and state authorities to assist slave owners in retrieving slaves.
Description: Booklet of yellowed paper and black text. Title reads "THE FUGITIVE SLAVE BILL ENACTED BY THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS." The entire bill is 8 pages, seven of which are printed with bold black mourning borders. The rear cover features a reproduction of an engraving with the caption, "The Boston Police executing the infamous law, in the case of Simms, who was delivered into the hands of the oppressor, between the hours of moon-setting and sun-rising, in 1851." The illustration on the back cover consists of a captured man being carried down the steps of a building by two armed men. The building is surrounded by rows of armed men and two dogs are facing off against each other in the foreground.

Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

1854

Restrictions & Rights: Public domain; Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.

Place printed: Boston, Massachusetts, United States, North and Central America

See more items in: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification: Slavery and Freedom Objects; Books and Published Materials
Movement: Abolitionist movement

National Museum of African American History and Culture

Topic: African American; Antislavery; Free communities of color; Fugitive enslaved; Law; Politics; Self-liberation; Slavery

GUID (Link to Original Record): http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5a28aa2c3-f9ee-45f4-b9f4-499214ecaccd