This week, we’re going to wrap up our series on the Fugitive Slave Act, and the efforts of black and white abolitionists in Boston to resist what they saw as an unjust law. In last week’s show, we discussed how Lewis Hayden and the Vigilance Committee rescued the fugitive Shadrach Minkins from being returned to slavery. This week, we’re going to learn how that act of resistance led to a federal crackdown in Boston, look at two unsuccessful rescues that followed, and see how the unrest galvanized the apathetic population of Boston into a hotbed of radical abolitionism. Listen to this week’s episode for the exciting conclusion!
Our Temple of Justice is a Slave Pen!
- The letter from Mary Blanchard to her father Benjamin Seaver, describing Anthony Burns’ march to the waterfront.
- The checks used to purchase Anthony Burns’ freedom
- An 1856 book about the Burns case; the following images are from this book.
- A City So Grand, by Stephen Puleo
This Week in Boston History
- valentine’s day blizzard
- The last day of streetcar service through Copley Square
- John Adams on the prospects for a speedy peace… and his opinions on Southerners