Wendell Phillips Speaks Against the Fugitive Slave Law

Date

April 11, 1851

Description

The illustration is from a popular nineteenth-century publication. It shows reformer Wendell Phillips (1811–1884) addressing an April 11,1851 meeting to protest the case of Thomas Sims, a fugitive slave being tried in Boston. A fiery and persuasive orator, Phillips was a member of the Boston Committee of Vigilance that tried to prevent Sims from being returned to slavery. The attempts failed and on April 13, United States marshals marched Sims to a ship that returned him to Savannah, where he was publicly whipped. This item was added as part of the Diversity and Collaborative Knowledge Program funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).

Type

Image

Region

Central New York, New York State

Era

Expansion and Reform

Topic

Civil Rights, Slavery

Repository

Library of Congress

Identifer

boston02

Source

Library of Congress, “Wendell Phillips Speaks Against the Fugitive Slave Law.” https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/african/afam006.html.

Rights

This image is provided for education and research purposes. Rights may be reserved. Responsibility for securing permissions to distribute, publish, reproduce or other use rest with the user. For additional information see our Copyright and Use Statement