The Fugitive Slave Law, and its Victims, 1856
American Anti-Slavery Society,
138 Nassau Street, New York., 1856.
The Fugitive Slave Law was enacted by
Congress in September, 1850, received the
signature of Howell Cobb, of Georgia, as
Speaker of the House of Representatives, of
William R. King, of Alabama, as President of
the Senate, and was "approved," September
18th, of that year, by Millard Fillmore,
Acting President of the United States.
The authorship of the Bill is generally
ascribed to James M. Mason, Senator from
Virginia. Before proceeding to the principal
object of this tract, it is proper to give a
synopsis of the Act itself, which was well
called, by the New York Evening Post, "An
Act for the Encouragement of Kidnapping." It
is in ten sections.
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The Fugitive Slave Law, and its Victims, 1856