The Boston Slave Riot, and Trial of Anthony Burns
Boston: Fetridge and Company, 1854.
86 pp. + 12 pp. of ads. Bound in publisher's original wrappers with portrait of Anthony Burns on the front cover. Very Good. Lean to spine, uneven toning to wraps. Dust-soiled with early page corners curled and creased. Born a slave in Virginia, Burns escaped and stowed away on a ship bound for Boston. His recapture, extradition and court case received national attention and led to overwhelming outcries of public support, protests and violence. His case was unsuccessfully defended by Richard Henry Dana, and in order to prevent another "Abolitionist" riot, federal troops were deployed to ensure his return to Virginia. Burns was eventually ransomed from slavery, with his freedom being bought by Boston sympathizers. He was educated at Oberlin College in Ohio, and became a preacher before moving to Canada. A rare account of a pre-Civil War era fugitive slave case which enveloped the nation, and one of the most important cases regarding the enforcement of The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Item #140939283
Price: $3,500.00