Creator(s)	E.C., lithographer.
Title	Practical illustration of the fugitive slave law.
Link to library catalog	http://catalog.bostonathenaeum.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=476734
Date created	[1850 or 1851]
Publishing details	[Boston?,]
Wall Label	The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 empowered the federal government to force northern states and their citizens to capture runaway slaves and return them to their southern owners. Northern opposition to the bill was vitriolic, particularly in the state of Massachusetts where citizens rioted in the streets of Boston. Massachusetts senator, Daniel Webster (1782-1852), had supported passage of the law on constitutional grounds while dismissing Boston abolitionists as “good people, misled... by strange enthusiasms.” The contempt was mutual and widespread. Shortly after passage of the Act, Webster resigned his senatorial seat and gave up his presidential aspirations. This political cartoon ridicules both opponents and proponents of the Fugitive Slave Act. The advocates of the Act are shown on the right with Daniel Webster clutching a copy of the Constitution and being driven by a well-dressed Southern slave owner who waves a lasso and shackles. John C. Calhoun (1782-1852), senator from South Carolina and an apologist for slavery, is carrying heavy tomes identified as “Law & Gospel.” The opposition, seen on the left, is led by abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison (1805-1879) who protects a female slave while brandishing a pistol. This is a particularly slanderous depiction of Garrison who, although passionately opposed to slavery, was a committed pacifist. In the background, the figure of Liberty overlooks the conflict.
Summary	A political print satirizing the opposing views of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. African-Americans and the abolitionist, William Lloyd Garrison face off against Daniel Webster and a group of slaveholders. Garrison, his arm around an African-American woman, points a gun at Webster and says "Don't be alarmed, Susanna, you're safe enough." Two African-American men fend off the slaveholders with a gun and a whip with one of them stating "It's my turn now Old Slave Driver." On the right side of the print, Daniel Webster is shown on all fours, holding a copy of the Constitution, and saying "This, though Constitutional, is extremely disagreeable." A rich slaveholder, grasping a noose and a manacle, sits on top of Webster, saying "Don't back out Webster, if you do we're ruin[e]d." A man, possibly meant to be John C. Calhoun, carries two volumes marked "Law & Gospel" declares "We will give these fellows a touch of Old South Carolina." Another man in the background says, "I goes in for Law & Order." A slaveholder, lying prostrate on the ground, whimpers, "This is all your fault Webster." In the background, a Temple of Liberty is depicted with banners reading "A day, an hour, of virtuous Liberty, is worth an age of Servitude" and "All men are born free & equal."
Notes	Artist's initials signed on stone lower left . Weitenkampf attributed this cartoon to the New York artist Edward Williams Clay but Reilly refutes this attribution on the grounds that the draftsmanship, signature, and political opinions are atypical of Clay. Reilly proposed Boston as the city of origin.
Local notes	Purchased with income from the W.H.C. Steiner Print Fund in honor of Victoria L.M. Paine and Michael J. Paine; December 2010; #2010.37.
Reference	Weitenkampf, p. 102-103 . American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard Reilly, pp. 344-345.
Subject	Calhoun, John C. (John Caldwell), 1782-1850--Caricatures and cartoons. Garrison, William Lloyd, 1805-1879--Caricatures and cartoons. Webster, Daniel, 1782-1852--Caricatures and cartoons. United States. Fugitive slave law (1850)--Caricatures and cartoons. Slavery--Law and legislation--Caricatures and cartoons. Abolitionists--Massachusetts--Boston--Caricatures and cartoons. African Americans--Caricatures and cartoons. Antislavery movements--Massachusetts--Boston--Caricatures and cartoons. Fugitive slaves--Legal status, laws, etc.--United States--Caricatures and cartoons. Slaveholders--United States--Caricatures and cartoons. United States--History--1849-1877--Caricatures and cartoons.
Genre terms	Lithographs--United States--1850-1860. Political cartoons--United States--1850-1860.
Location/Call number	Prints and Photographs Dept. (Appointment required) B UMS Po.us.1851
Source	Fugitive-Slave-Law-CS.jpg
Rights	Collection of the Boston Athenaeum. May not be reproduced or quoted without written permission. For more information, see http://www.bostonathenaeum.org/node/46