THE FUGITIVE SLAVE BILL: ITS HISTORY AND UNCONSTITUTIONALITY; WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THE SEIZURE AND ENSLAVEMENT OF JAMES HAMLET, AND HIS SUBSEQUENT RESTORATION TO LIBERTY
THE FUGITIVE SLAVE BILL: ITS HISTORY AND UNCONSTITUTIONALITY; WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THE SEIZURE AND ENSLAVEMENT OF JAMES HAMLET, AND HIS SUBSEQUENT RESTORATION TO LIBERTY
THE FUGITIVE SLAVE BILL: ITS HISTORY AND UNCONSTITUTIONALITY; WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THE SEIZURE AND ENSLAVEMENT OF JAMES HAMLET, AND HIS SUBSEQUENT RESTORATION TO LIBERTY

THE FUGITIVE SLAVE BILL: ITS HISTORY AND UNCONSTITUTIONALITY; WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THE SEIZURE AND ENSLAVEMENT OF JAMES HAMLET, AND HIS SUBSEQUENT RESTORATION TO LIBERTY

New York: William Harned, 1850. Third Edition. Octavo, 36 pages; VG-; softcover; disbound pamphlet; third edition of Sabin no. 26125; some wear and soiling; some foxing throughout; pages without marginalia or underlining; an excerpt reads, "James Hamlet is a highly esteemed young man. In the language of the subservient Journal of Commerce, he is "a steady, correct, and upright man," "a member of the Methodist Church," and "can be redeemed for $800.""; RW consignment; shelved Case 8 1/2.

1351815

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NOTES

James Hamlet was the first slave arrested and remanded under the Fugitive Slave Act of 18 September 1850, seized just eight days after its passage. Finkelman (Slavery in the Courtroom), pages 85-86 cites this pamphlet as the only real record of the proceedings; there were no published reports of hearings before the fugitive slave commissioners. Through the sale of this pamphlet and the fund-raising efforts of the American Anti-Slavery Society, $800 was raised to buy Hamlet's freedom. He was officially freed on October 5th, 1850.