<I>The Fugitive Slave Bill</I>
date: label: Date
content: 1854
name: label: Written by
content: United States Congress, American, founded 1789
label: Subject of
content: Millard Fillmore, American, 1800 - 1874
label: Subject of
content: Anthony Burns, American, 1834 - 1862
label: Subject of
content: Thomas Sims, American, born ca. 1834
notes: label: Caption
content: 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.
label: Description
content: 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.
place: label: Place printed
content: Boston, Massachusetts, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Antislavery
label: Topic
content: Free communities of color
label: Topic
content: Fugitive enslaved
label: Topic
content: Law
label: Topic
content: Politics
label: Topic
content: Self-liberation
label: Topic
content: Slavery
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Slavery and Freedom Objects
label: Classification
content: Books and Published Materials
label: Movement
content: Abolitionist movement
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2012.46.5
objectType: label: Type
content: bills (legislative records)
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Public domain
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: ink on paper
label: Dimensions
content: H x W: 9 x 6 in. (22.9 x 15.2 cm)