Chapter 10:The Union in Peril

Topic: How did the work of northern abolitionists defy the system of

slavery?Gabe TudorSean PatrickCole AspellJohn Jordan

The North

• Feared expansion of slaveryo2 main reasons

more slaves= more free labor= less need for paid workers to do labor

the status of white workers would go down if they lost work to the slaves

Anthony Burns• Was forced back into slavery in Virginia

due to the Fugitive Slave Act• His trial resulted in antislavery sentiment

throughout the North• “We went to bed one night old-fashioned,

conservative, compromised Union Whigs, and waked up stark mad Abolitionists.”       - Northerner

Anthony Burns

Fugitive Slave Act• Was a component of the Compromise of

1850• People were surprised by the terms of act

o Extremely harsh o Alleged fugitives were not entitled to a trial by

juryContradiction of 6th Amendment

o Fugitives couldn't testify on their behalf either

Resisting the Law• Infuriated by the Fugitive Slave Act

o Northerners organized committees Send endangered African Americans to safety

Canadao Others rescued fugitive slaves by means of violenceo Passed Personal Liberty Laws

9 Northern States passed this Forbade the imprisonment of runaway slaves Guaranteed jury trials

Resisting the Law (Cont.)

• Northern lawyers drug out the trials o 3-4 yearso Increased slave catchers’ expenses

• Southern slave owners were enraged by Northern resistance to Fugitive Slave Acto “Do not be surprised if when I return home you find me a

confirmed disunionist.” Harvard Law student from Georgia

Underground Railroad• A network that fugitive slaves had to use

for their escape to freedomo Many white and black supporters helped the

slaves along their way to the Northo Harriet Tubman

One the most famous conductors of the URR She became this shortly after the F.S.A. was passed

Saved more than 300 slaves Had a price of $40,000 on her head Was nicknamed “Moses” by rescued slaves

Harriet Tubman

A Personal Voice

• "In The Woods I lived on nothing...I stayed in the hollow of a big poplar tree for seven months...I suffered mighty bad with the cold and for something to eat. One time a snake come to the tree... and I took my axe chopped him in two. It was... the poisonest kind of snake we have. While in the woods all my thoughts was how to get away to a free country."o insert from The Underground Railroad,                   by

Charles L. Blockson

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

• Written by Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852 o Criticized by many during the time periodo Increased the amount of protest against the

Fugitive Slave Act o Southerners saw it as an attack on their culture

and values o Proved that slavery was a moral and political

struggle in the U.S.