For this discussion we were asked to read “Before the Railroad: From Slavery to Freedom in the Canadian-American Borderland by Gregory Wigmore, as well as “Hands Across the Border: The Abortive Extradition of Solomon Moseby by David Murray. I found both of the articles very interesting as they both seemed to cover the time periods of the 1800’s and expressed how both American and Canadian legislators struggled with coming up with a working interpretation to their own complicated policies on slavery, as well as how these policies affected the relationship with their neighboring country. The first article I read was “Hands Across the Border: The Abortive Extradition of Solomon Moseby”, this article depicted the events following an American …show more content…
However, as the British Empire and by extension Canada had banned slavery in 1833, the American Slave owners were forced to seek legal loopholes in the legal code in order to recoup their “lost property”. In the case of Solomon Moseby the American Slave owner petitioned the Canadian Colonial Government and received the order to have Solomon Moseby returned to him. This was achieved through claiming that Solomon Moseby had committed a crime upon leaving America by stealing a horse, therefore, he wanted to extradite him as a criminal and not as an absconded slave. This was a popular method of obfuscating the true intentions of the American master when it came to pursuing his slave and gaining the rights to bring him or her back to American slavery. The article then goes on to examine the complicated relationship between both politicians and citizens of Canada when it came to how they viewed their own legislative codes, and how they would respond if their legal code was circumvented in an obvious way. David Murray then goes on to focus greatly on the relationships between the various actors involved in this political dispute; the white citizens, the free black citizens and both the Canadian and …show more content…
Gregory Wigmore tends to focus on the narrative of how, despite the British Empire having legally banned slavery or being on the cusp of banning slavery, that Canadian judges by and large were hesitant and uneducated on the fact that they were supposed to stop the creation of new slaves, and to curb the sales of slaves in general. A strong message that can be felt throughout his writing, is that before Canada received its reputation for being a safe haven for slaves, it often failed to protect run away slaves from America as well as freed black people from their former masters or from being forcefully re-entered into slavery again. He suggests that due to the fact that both America and Canada had ideologically opposed interpretations of property laws, border sovereignty and duties to each other; that new legislature which was created by either one of the nations influenced the other to take it one step further. This catch up race eventually ended up weakening the slave system in Canada to the point where many slaves escaped to America for a chance at free life; as America felt no obligation to return slaves or military deserters to Canadian officials. This was a two-way street however, as America adopted this attitude to absconded
When Edward Prigg was arrested for kidnapping a black woman and former slave named Margaret Morgan to return her to her former master, little did anybody know what role it would play in the history of the United States. The case that would come to bear his name, Prigg v. Pennsylvania, was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court on the topic of fugitive slaves. The case though was more than just Prigg or Morgan, but rather the result of decades of constitutional and national conflict over power, morality and slavery. Justice Joseph Story who wrote the majority opinion of the Court, took it upon himself to attempt to resolve these conflicts, much to the dismay of Chief Justice Taney and the other justices, and in the process only pushed the nation further along a path to disunion that would end only in a civil war. Prigg v. Pennsylvania captured the conflicts of generations over who held the power to legislate and enforce the institution of slavery, in particular the interstate conflicts aroused by the reclamation of fugitive slaves by former masters, and in the wake of the decision only created more conflict and pushed the nation faster to civil war.
For Edmund S. Morgan American slavery and American freedom go together hand in hand. Morgan argues that many historians seem to ignore writing about the early development of American freedom simply because it was shaped by the rise of slavery. It seems ironic that while one group of people is trying to break the mold and become liberated, that same group is making others confined and shattering their respectability. The aspects of liberty, race, and slavery are closely intertwined in the essay, 'Slavery and Freedom: The American Paradox.'
This story was set in the deep south were ownership of African Americans was no different than owning a mule. Demonstrates of how the Thirteenth Amendment was intended to free slaves and describes the abolitionist’s efforts. The freedom of African Americans was less a humanitarian act than an economic one. There was a battle between the North and South freed slaves from bondage but at a certain cost. While a few good men prophesied the African Americans were created equal by God’s hands, the movement to free African Americans gained momentum spirited by economic and technological innovations such as the export, import, railroad, finance, and the North’s desire for more caucasian immigrants to join America’s workforce to improve our evolving nation. The inspiration for world power that freed slaves and gave them initial victory of a vote with passage of the Fifteenth Amendment. A huge part of this story follows the evolution of the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment more acts for civil rights.
Imagine that it is the year 1841 in Saratoga, New York and blossoms of the dogwood tree are swirling around your face as the wind gently tousles your hair. All seems well in the world, and, to Solomon Northup, great opportunities are coming his way. Two men, by the names of Merrill Brown and Abram Hamilton, had offered a dream job to Solomon. They had asked him to join them in a circus, playing the fiddle, an instrument Solomon had mastered. However, these men were not as honest as they seemed. Brown and Hamilton later drugged and kidnapped Solomon at a hotel one night during the tour. These men successfully forced Solomon into twelve years of slavery.
Roark, J.L., Johnson, M.P., Cohen, P.C., Stage, S., Lawson, A., Hartmann, S.M. (2009). The american promise: A history of the united states (4th ed.), The New West and Free North 1840-1860, The slave south, 1820-1860, The house divided 1846-1861 (Vol. 1, pp. 279-354).
After the American Revolution, slavery began to decrease in the North, just as it was becoming more popular in the South. By the turn of the century, seven of the most Northern states had abolished slavery. During this time, a surge of democratic reform swept the North to the West, and there were demands for political equality, economic and social advances for all Americans. Northerners said that slavery revoked the human right of being a free person and when new territories became available i...
Thompson, John Herd, and Mark Paul Richard. "Canadian History in North American Context." In Canadian studies in the new millennium. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2008. 37-64.
In the year of 1867 the nation we know as Canada came into being. The Confederation in this year only came about after things had been overcome. Many political and economic pressures were exerted on the colonies and a federal union of the colonies seemed to be the most practical method of dealing with these pressures and conflicts. While Confederation was a solution to many of the problems, it was not a popular one for all the colonies involved. In the Maritime colonies views differed widely on the topic. Some were doubtful, some were pleased, others were annoyed and many were hopeful for a prosperous future.1
Despite each individual having different circumstances in which they experienced regarding the institution of slavery, both were inspired to take part in the abolitionist movement due to the injustices they witnessed. The result is two very compelling and diverse works that attack the institution of slavery and argue against the reasons the pro-slavery individuals use to justify the slavery
In constructing “ The Unredeemed Captive,” John Demos uses many styles of writing. One of the most pronounced styles used in this book is an argumentative style of writing. John Demos argues many points throughout the book and makes several contradictions to topics discussed previously in the work. John Demos also uses several major themes in the book, suck as captivity, kinship, negotiation, trade, regional and national development, and international relations. Each one of these themes, in my opinion, are what separate the book into its major sections.
The American Revolution was a “light at the end of the tunnel” for slaves, or at least some. African Americans played a huge part in the war for both sides. Lord Dunmore, a governor of Virginia, promised freedom to any slave that enlisted into the British army. Colonists’ previously denied enlistment to African American’s because of the response of the South, but hesitantly changed their minds in fear of slaves rebelling against them. The north had become to despise slavery and wanted it gone. On the contrary, the booming cash crops of the south were making huge profits for landowners, making slavery widely popular. After the war, slaves began to petition the government for their freedom using the ideas of the Declaration of Independence,” including the idea of natural rights and the notion that government rested on the consent of the governed.” (Keene 122). The north began to fr...
Thomas, David M.. Canada and the United States: differences that count. Third ed. Toronto: Broadview Press, 2008.
Slavery was the core of the North and South’s conflict. Slavery has existed in the New World since the seventeenth century prior to it being exclusive to race. During those times there were few social and political concerns about slavery. Initially, slaves were considered indentured servants who will eventually be set free after paying their debt(s) to the owner. In some cases, the owners were African with white servants. However, over time the slavery became exclusive to Africans and was no limited to a specific timeframe, but life. In addition, the treatment of slaves worsens from the Atlantic Slave trade to th...
Knowles, H. J. (2007). The Constitution and Slavery: A Special Relationship. Slavery & Abolition, 28(3), 309-328. doi:10.1080/01440390701685514
The word “slavery” brings back horrific memories of human beings. Bought and sold as property, and dehumanized with the risk and implementation of violence, at times nearly inhumane. The majority of people in the United States assumes and assures that slavery was eliminated during the nineteenth century with the Emancipation Proclamation. Unfortunately, this is far from the truth; rather, slavery and the global slave trade continue to thrive till this day. In fact, it is likely that more individuals are becoming victims of human trafficking across borders against their will compared to the vast number of slaves that we know in earlier times. Slavery is no longer about legal ownership asserted, but instead legal ownership avoided, the thought provoking idea that with old slavery, slaves were maintained, compared to modern day slavery in which slaves are nearly disposable, under the same institutionalized systems in which violence and economic control over the disadvantaged is the common way of life. Modern day slavery is insidious to the public but still detrimental if not more than old American slavery.