The Fugitive Slave Law was passed in 1850, and required all citizens to aid in the capture and return of any fugitive enslaved people. The law created a force of federal commissioners to pursue them in any state and return them to their owners. No statute of limitations applied, so that even those who had been free for many years could be returned. The man described in this news article successfully eluded the commissioners on his trail and reached his destination in Canada.
Greenfield Gazette and Courier. “Fugitive Slave.” April 13, 1860. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/l02-110/. Accessed on October 16, 2024.
Please note: Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.