By Gordon Harris The Fugitive Slave Acts By the time of the United States Constitutional Convention in 1787, many Northern states including Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut had already abolished slavery, but Article 4 of the Constitution included a clause that, “no person held to service or labor” would be released from … Continue reading Abolition and the Underground Railroad in Essex County
The Caning of Senator Charles Sumner
Shortly after the Senate adjourned on May 21, Congressman Preston Brooks of South Carolina. attacked Sumner, yelling out, “I have read your speech, a libel on South Carolina.” and began slamming his metal-topped cane onto Sumner's head.
Freedom for Jenny Slew
Jenny Slew was born about 1719 as the child of a free white woman and a black slave, but lived her life as a free woman until 1762 when she was taken and enslaved by John Whipple Jr. of Ipswich.