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Boston Abolitionists Warn of Slave Catchers

In 1850, Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act, which required police officers everywhere in the country to capture escaped slaves and return them to their owners. Anyone who was caught helping escaped slaves could also be arrested and face large fines. As a result of the law, many free African Americans who were not escaped slaves were still captured and sent into slavery in the South.

External Link: hdl.loc.gov

Source | Theodore Parker, "Caution!! Colored people of Boston," poster, 1851, Boston; from the Library of Congress, http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.rbc/rbpe.06002200.
Creator | Theodore Parker
Item Type | Poster/Print
Cite This document | Theodore Parker, “Boston Abolitionists Warn of Slave Catchers,” SHEC: Resources for Teachers, accessed April 19, 2024, https://shec.ashp.cuny.edu/items/show/1213.

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