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The practice of slavery in Massachusetts was ended gradually through case law. As an institution, it died out in the late 18th century through judicial actions litigated on behalf of slaves seeking manumission. Unlike some other jurisdictions, enslaved people in Massachusetts occupied a dual legal status of being both property and persons ...
The Porter–Phelps–Huntington House serves as an excellent lens through which to view the history of slavery in Western Massachusetts, especially in the town of Hadley. Slavery has existed in Hadley since the town's founding; the first four ministers of the town were all slave owners. [ 4 ]
An 1851 poster warning the "colored people of Boston" about policemen acting as slave catchers, pursuant to the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. The Boston Vigilance Committee (1841–1861) was an abolitionist organization formed in Boston, Massachusetts, to protect escaped slaves from being kidnapped and returned to slavery in the South.
The provision that only war captives or purchased slaves could be kept was enforced: in 1645, the owners of a ship that was determined to have brought two black men who had been kidnapped in Africa were sentenced to send them back, together with an apology from Massachusetts. [7] Slavery was legal in Massachusetts until 1780 and ended with the ...
Smith became involved in the Underground Railroad and was a member of the Boston Vigilance Committee, which worked to aid refugee slaves. [4] He harbored refugee slaves in his home in Cambridge, employed them in his business as cooks and waiters, and often gave them money out of his own pocket, as well as weapons and supplies if they were traveling on to Canada to ensure their freedom.
Although Boston was an important center of the abolitionist movement, its residents were by no means unanimously opposed to slavery or the Fugitive Slave Law. On the contrary, the local press excoriated Huggerford and Sheriff C. P. Sumner (father of abolitionist Charles Sumner) for not having placed more officers at the courthouse. The riot was ...
The house is a Boston African-American historic site located on the Black Heritage Trail in Beacon Hill. [5] [6] [7] [8]The National Park Service wrote: The historic buildings along today's Black Heritage Trail were the homes, businesses, schools and churches of a thriving black community that organized, from the nation's earliest years, to sustain those who faced local discrimination and ...
Abolitionists brought in lecturers, including former slaves, to speak about the horrors of slavery. Frederick Douglass, a former slave and resident of the town, became an eloquent and moving orator on the lecture circuit. Slave narratives, produced by former slaves who lived in New Bedford, also provided insight about the experiences of slaves ...