There are many sources from which material for a study of fugitive slaves may be gathered. Almost any work upon the slavery question touches sooner or later upon this topic, and the difficulties arise rather from the amount of the literature which must be examined than from lack of information. No formal bibliography of the subject, or of any phase of it, has been found; it has therefore been necessary to go through a large body of material, and to sift out references which bear upon the subject.

2. Libraries.

The labor has been much facilitated by the completeness and convenient arrangement of the literature bearing upon slavery in the libraries of Cambridge and Boston. The Harvard College Library possesses two unique collections of slavery pamphlets, one the bequest of Charles Sumner, the other the gift of Colonel T. W. Higginson; and the Card Catalogue of the Library is a comprehensive guide to a large alcove of other books. The great collections of the Boston Public Library have also been made accessible by the full Card Catalogue of that Library. The Boston AthenÆum has also furnished valuable material; and in the Massachusetts State Library is an excellent set of State Statutes, which has been freely used. I have not been able to consult the antislavery collection of the Cornell Library at Ithaca.

3. Secondary works.

The material upon fugitive slaves, as upon any topic, may be divided into two classes, secondary and original. The general and local histories which come under the first class have been of good service as guides to further investigation. The Rise and Fall of the Slave Power in America, by Henry Wilson, takes up the whole question of slavery in a thorough manner, and devotes special attention to the debates in Congress. Though long and ill-arranged, it is comprehensive and trustworthy. Unfortunately, the work is not provided with foot-notes. Williams's History of the Negro Race, and Greeley's American Conflict, are other surveys of the whole subject. For a discussion of political forces and constitutional questions, Von Holst is the best authority, while Hurd, besides enumerating the statutes from colonial times down, considers the subject with great clearness from a judicial point of view, describes many cases, and in foot-notes gives references to others.

Studies of colonial slavery are found in Lodge's English Colonies in America and Doyle's English in America. Several special essays have been printed on slavery in Massachusetts; Deane's and Moore's Notes on Slavery, and Washburn's Extinction of Slavery in Massachusetts. Little attention is in any of these works given to fugitive slaves.

To another class belong books descriptive of the institution of slavery. Mrs. Frances Kemble wrote about life on a Southern plantation before the war, and the Cotton Kingdom and other volumes by Frederick Law Olmsted give many interesting details, and furnished me with much material for the chapter on Fugitives and their Friends.

4. Biographies.

Biographies of antislavery men are likely to contain information on fugitive slave cases. The Life of Isaac T. Hopper is full of accounts of his ways of aiding flight, and for the same reason the Life of Gerrit Smith is exceedingly interesting. Birney's Life of James G. Birney deals little with fugitives. The biographies of Mrs. Lydia Maria Child, Arthur and Lewis Tappan, John Brown, Garrison, Phillips, and the GrimkÉ sisters, may also be mentioned. Others, like those of Jonathan Walker, L. W. Paine, Daniel Drayton, captain of the schooner Pearl, W. L. Chaplin, Work, Burr, and Thompson, and the recently published Life of Rev. Calvin Colman, relate simply the stories of trials and imprisonments for aiding fugitives, and are often more in the nature of original than secondary sources.

5. Original sources.

Very early in the preparation of this work it became evident that no writer had systematically examined and compared the legislation of the Colonies and States, or searched the records of Congress, or looked for contemporary accounts of any considerable number of escapes. I was therefore obliged to search for such original material as was within my reach. Doubtless some important books and pamphlets have escaped me, and an examination of other collections would enlarge the bibliography; but the effort has been made to exhaust the literature of the subject, except in newspapers.

6. Slave autobiographies.

Out of the great variety of original sources containing descriptions of slave life and escapes, the autobiographies of the slaves themselves are the most interesting, and often the saddest. The Rev. James Freeman Clarke says, in his Antislavery Days: "Even now, when it is all over, the flesh creeps and the blood curdles in the veins at the accounts of the dreadful cruelties practised on slaves in many parts of the South. I would advise no one to read such histories to-day unless his nerves are very well strung." Frederick Douglass has given us two books, one written before slavery was abolished, and a fuller account afterward, when it was no longer imprudent to reveal the whole story of his escape. Many of these lives were published by antislavery people, who wished by such means to rouse the North. Such are the stories of Box Brown, Peter Still, Archy Moore, Solomon Northrup, Lunsford Lane, and others, most of which have been quoted above.

7. Records of trials.

Much descriptive detail can often be found in the published reports of trials. A volume is devoted to the Oberlin-Wellington case, and several volumes have been published on the Burns trial. For the Prigg and Hanway cases, and others of importance, the records of the Supreme Court and lower courts have been consulted. Most of the important cases were tried in State courts or before commissioners, and the only reports are fugitive pamphlets, of which many have been consulted and cited.

8. Speeches.

In the study of public sentiment and for the weighing of argument the speeches of Phillips, Sumner, Seward, Giddings, Webster, Mann, Rantoul, Loring, and others, are of the greatest value. They often throw light upon obscure cases, and the fugitive slave stories brought in as illustrations have sometimes led to the discovery of interesting and forgotten cases.

9. Reminiscences.

A valuable aid in reconstructing in the mind the conditions of the slavery struggle are the reminiscences of participants. Rev. James Freeman Clarke's Antislavery Days and Mr. Parker Pillsbury's book have been helpful in these chapters. A pamphlet by Mr. Austin Bearse describes the Fugitive Slave Laws in Boston, and relates the work of the Vigilance Committee in protecting escaped negroes. The books of Still, Smedley, and Coffin, on the workings of the Underground Railroad, are composed chiefly of reminiscences, and have furnished many essential facts.

10. Reports of societies.

The reports of the various antislavery societies, especially of those of Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, have also been examined with profit as to the work among the refugees in Canada, etc. For the colonial period the publications of the Massachusetts and New York Historical Societies are exceedingly important, and have been freely drawn upon.

11. Periodicals and newspapers.

Not much has been gathered from periodicals. Poole's Index was used and occasionally something of importance was discovered. Thus The Freedman's Story in the Atlantic Monthly has furnished one of the most striking of the stories about resistance to escapes. Such articles are few, and occur long after the slavery period, when such disclosures were no longer unpopular. The Magazine of American History contains Several articles. Among newspapers, the Liberator is without doubt the most complete record of the extreme antislavery sentiment toward the fugitive slave laws and their workings. Each case as it occurs is fully commented upon, and in addition there is each week a column or two of atrocities, and among them stories of fugitives are often given. The Harvard College Library contains a complete file, which I have examined; and references to the Liberator are therefore frequent throughout the work. The colonial newspapers are of little value, except for the conclusions which may be drawn from the advertisements for runaways. Newspapers of that time were so limited in scope, that an affair so unimportant to them as a fugitive slave case would scarcely appear.

12. Materials bearing on legislation.

The materials for the study of colonial legislation must be gathered from many sources. The best collection of them in Boston may be found at the State Library. In some colonies there are carefully edited series of volumes chronologically arranged, but in others the records have been but irregularly printed. The laws of New Netherlands and of early New York are easily accessible in well printed volumes of a recent date. For the Southern States, the Hening edition of the Virginia Statutes at Large is clear, and covers a long period. There is also the Cooper collection for South Carolina, Bacon's series for Maryland, Iredell's edition of South Carolina Statutes, and Leaming and Spicer for New Jersey. There are of course many others, but these comprise the most important.

From the beginning of the Constitutional period, the proceedings of Congress may be followed as minutely as desired. An outline of the proceedings is given in the Journals of the Senate and House, while for a fuller account and reports of speeches the Annals of Congress and Congressional Debates to 1837, and the Congressional Globes from 1833 to 1863, furnish ample material. Information in regard to the number and personnel of the House is most readily gathered from Poore's Congressional Directory.

13. Alphabetical list of works.

This list includes all the books and articles which have been of service in preparing the monograph, except a few of the general histories.

Adams, Charles Francis, Jr. Richard Henry Dana: a Biography. 2 vols. Boston, 1890.

Allen, H. W. Trial of U. S. Deputy Marshal for Kidnapping, etc. Syracuse, 1852.

Antislavery Almanacs, miscellaneous collection of, in the Library of Harvard College.

Antislavery Pamphlets, miscellaneous collection of, unsuitable for binding, in the Library of Harvard College.

Antislavery Societies, Annual Reports of.

Amherstburg Quarterly Mission Journal, Amherstburg, Canada West.

Ball, J. P. Mammoth Pictorial Tour of the United States, compiled for a Panorama. Cincinnati, 1855.

Bayard, James. A Brief Exposition of the Constitution of the United States. Philadelphia, 1845.

Bearse, Anthony. Remembrances of Fugitive Slave Law Days in Boston. Boston, 1880. pp. 41.

Birney, J. G. Examination of the Decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in the Case of Strader, Gorman, and Armstrong vs. Christopher Graham, 1850. Cincinnati, 1851. pp. 47.

Bledsoe, Albert T. An Essay on Liberty and Slavery. Philadelphia, 1887. pp. 383.

Bowditch, H. I. To the Public. [Defence of his conduct in the case of Latimer against the charges of J. B. Gray.] Boston, 1842. pp. 11.

Bowditch, W. I. The Rendition of Anthony Burns. Boston, 1854. pp. 40.

——. The United States Constitution a Pro-slavery Instrument. New York, 1855. pp. 12.

Bowen, C. W. Arthur and Lewis Tappan, a Paper read at the Fiftieth Anniversary of the New York City Antislavery Society, Oct. 2, 1883. New York, 1883. (?) pp. 116.

Bowen, F. Fugitive Slaves. In North American Review, LXXI. 252. (July, 1850.)

Boston Slave Riot and Trial of Anthony Burns. Boston, 1854.

Brown, W. W. Narrative of a Fugitive Slave. Boston, 1848. pp. 144.

Bump, O. F. Notes of Constitutional Decisions, being the Digest of the Provincial Interpretations of the Constitution of the United States, etc. New York, 1878.

Canada Mission, 7th Annual Report of. Rochester, N. Y.

Case of William R. Chaplin, etc. Boston, 1851. pp. 54.

Chambers, William. American Slavery and Color. London, 1857.

Chase, S. P. Reclamation of Fugitive Slaves from Service, an Argument for the Defendant, submitted to the Supreme Court of the United States at December Term, 1840, in Case of W. Jones vs. John Van Zandt. Cincinnati, 1847. pp. 108.

Child, Lydia Maria. The Duty of Disobedience to the Fugitive Slave Act (an Appeal to the Legislators of Mass.). Boston, 1860. pp. 36.

——. Isaac T. Hopper (a True Life). Boston, 1853. pp. 120.

——. Letters of Lydia Maria Child. Boston, 1883.

Clarke, James Freeman. Antislavery Days. New York, 1884.

Clarke, Lewis and Milton, Narrative of the Sufferings of, among the Slaveholders of Kentucky. Boston, 1848. pp. 144.

Cobb, T. R. Historical Sketch of Slavery. Philadelphia, 1836.

Coffin, L. (President of Underground Railroad). Reminiscences of a Lifetime spent in Behalf of the Slave. Cincinnati, 1876.

Constitutional Provision, The, respecting Fugitives from Justice, and the Act of Congress, Sept. 18, 1850. Boston, 1852.

Cooley, Thomas M. The General Principles of Constitutional Law in the United States of America. Boston, 1880. pp. 376.

Daggs (Ruel) vs. Elihu Frazier et als. Fugitive Slave Case, Southern Division of Iowa. Burlington, 1850. pp. 40.

Deane, Charles, and Moore. Slavery in Massachusetts. Connecticut, 1877.

Desty, Robert. Constitution of the United States, with Notes by Robert Desty, etc. San Francisco, 1887.

Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of his Life. Written by himself. Boston, 1845.

——. Life and Times of Frederick Douglass. Hartford, 1881-82.

Drayton, Daniel. Personal Memoirs of, for four years and four months (a prisoner for charity's sake in Washington Jail), including Narrative of Voyage and Capture of Schooner Pearl. New York, 1855.

Drew, Benjamin. North Side View of Slavery, or Narrative of a Refugee in Canada, with an Account of the History of the Colored Population in Upper Canada. Boston, 1856.

Eliot, W. G. The Story of Archer Alexander from Slavery to Freedom. Boston, 1885.

Elliott, Chas. W. The New England History, from the Discovery of the Continent by the Northmen, A. D. 986, to the Period when the Colonies declared their Independence, A. D. 1776. 2 vols. New York, 1857.

Friend, By A. The Experiences of Thomas Jones, who was for forty-three years a Slave. Boston, 1850.

Frothingham, O. B. Life of Gerrit Smith. A Biography. New York, 1878. pp. 381.

Fugitive Slave Bill enacted by U. S. Congress, and approved by President Fillmore, Sept. 8, 1850. Boston, 1854. pp. 7.

Fugitive Slaves. In Democratic Review, XXVIII. 57 (April, 1851).

Furness, W. H. The Moving Power. A Discourse delivered in the First Congregational Unitarian Church in Philadelphia, Feb. 9, 1851, after the occurrence of a Fugitive Slave Case. Philadelphia, 1851.

Garrison, Wendell Phillips, and Garrison, Francis Jackson. William Lloyd Garrison, 1805-1879: the Story of his Life, told by his Children [Wendell Phillips Garrison and Francis Jackson Garrison]. 4 vols., 8vo. New York, 1885.

Giddings, J. R. The Exiles of Florida, or Crimes committed by our Government against Maroons who fled from South Carolina, etc. Columbus, O., 1858.

Goodell, William. Views of American Constitutional Law in its Bearings upon American Slavery. 2d ed. Utica, N. Y., 1845.

Goodloe, D. R. The Southern Platform, or Manual of Southern Sentiments on the Subject of Slavery. Boston, 1858.

Gray, A. F. (?) Letter to W. H. Seward touching the Surrender of certain Fugitives from Justice. New York, 1841.

Great Britain. British Documents, Parliament of Great Britain, Correspondence respecting Case of Fugitive Slave Anderson. London, 1861.

Greeley, Horace. The American Conflict; a History of the Great Rebellion, 1860-65; its moral and political Phases, with the Drift and Progress of America respecting Human Slavery from 1776. 2 vols., 8vo. Hartford, 1864.

Green, William (formerly a slave), Narrative of Events in the Life of. Written by himself. Springfield, 1853. pp. 23.

Hawkins, W. G. Lunsford Lane, or Another Helper from North Carolina. Boston, 1863.

Helper, H. R. The Impending Crisis in the South, and How to Meet it. New York, 1860. pp. 420.

Henson, Josiah. Life of J. Henson, formerly a Slave, now an Inhabitant of Canada, as narrated by himself.

Hildreth, R. The Slave, or Memoirs of Archy Moore. Boston, 1840.

Hopper, I. T. Thomas Cooper. New York, 1837.

Hossack, John. Speech of John Hossack, convicted of Violation of the Fugitive Slave Law, before Judge Drummond of the United States District Court, Chicago, Ill. New York, 1860. pp. 12.

Howe, S. G. Refugees from the South in Canada West. Report to Freedman's Inquiry Committee. Boston, 1864.

Hurd, J. C. The Law of Freedom and Bondage. 2 vols. New York, 1858, 1862.

——. Topics of Jurisprudence connected with the Condition of Freedom and Bondage. New York, 1856. pp.ix,113.

Hurd, R. C. Treatise on the Right of Personal Liberty, and on the Writ of Habeas Corpus, and Practice connected with it, with a View of the Law of Extradition of Fugitives. Albany, 1858.

Joliffe, John. In the Matter of George Gordon's Petition for Pardon. John Joliffe's Argument for Petitioner. Cincinnati, 1862.

Kane, Judge. District Court of the United States for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. United States of America, ex relatione Wheeler, vs. Williamson. Opinion of Judge Kane, Oct. 12, 1855. Philadelphia, 1855. pp. 20.

Kemble, Frances Anne. Journal of a Residence on a Georgian Plantation in 1836-39. New York, 1863.

Kent, J. Commentaries on American Law. 4 vols. Boston, 1884.

Kidnapping. African Observer, May, 1837.

Kingsbury, Harmon. 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 (with Appendix). New York, 1850.

Larned, E. C. Argument on the Trial of Joseph Stout, indicted for rescuing a Fugitive Slave from a United States Deputy Marshal at Ottawa, Ill., Oct. 20, 1859, delivered March 12 and 13, 186-. Chicago, 186-. pp. 43.

——. The new Fugitive Slave Law. Speech of E. C. Larned, Chicago, Oct. 25, 1850. Chicago, 1850.

Latimer Case. From the Law Reporter, March, 1843. Boston, 1843. pp. 10.

Letter to His Excellency, William H. Seward, Governor of the State of New York, touching the Surrender of certain Fugitives from Justice. New York, 1841. pp. 101.

Lord, J. C. The Higher Law in its Application to the Fugitive Slave Bill. Buffalo, 1851.

Madison, James. The Constitution a Pro-slavery Compact. New York, 1844.

Mann, Horace. Fugitive Slave Law. Boston, 1851.

Massachusetts Senate. Various Documents. Senate, 1851, No. 89 (examination of Sims Case).

May, S. J. American Antislavery Society. The Fugitive Slave Law and its Victims. New York, 1856, 1861.

——. Catalogue of Antislavery Publications in America, 1750-1830.

Moore, G. H. Notes on the History of Slavery in Massachusetts. New York, 1866.

Narrative of Facts in the Case of Passmore Williamson. Philadelphia, 1855.

Narrative of Solomon Northrup, a Citizen of New York, kidnapped in Washington in 1844, and rescued in 1853 from a Cotton Plantation near Red River, Louisiana. Cincinnati, H. W. Derby.

Needles, Edward. Historical Memoir of the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery. Philadelphia, 1848.

New York Court of Appeals, Report of the Lemmon Slave Case. New York, 1861. pp. 446.

New York Legal Observer, Supplement to, containing Report of the Case In the Matter of George Kirk, a Fugitive Slave, heard before J. W. Edmunds, Circuit Judge; also the Argument of John Jay, Counsel for the Slave. New York, 1844. pp. 20.

Oberlin-Wellington Rescue. New Englander, XVII. 686.

Olmsted, F. L. The Cotton Kingdom. 2 vols. New York, 1861.

Paine, Byron, and Smith, A. D. Unconstitutionality of the Fugitive Slave Act. Argument of A. D. Smith. Milwaukee, 1854. pp. 35.

Paine, L. W. Six Years in a Georgia Prison. Narrative of L. W. Paine, who suffered Imprisonment for aiding Slaves to escape from that State after he had fled from Slavery. Boston, 1852.

Parker, Joel. Personal Liberty Laws (State of Massachusetts) and Slavery in the Territories (Case of Dred Scott). Boston, 1861. pp. 97.

Parker, Theodore. Anthony Burns. [Collection made and arranged in the form of a scrap-book by Theodore Parker, whose Autograph and Manuscript it contains.] Boston Public Library.

Peabody, Andrew Preston. [Address before the New England Historic-Genealogical Society, May 6, 1891.]

Peabody, E. Narratives of Fugitive Slaves. Christian Examiner, XLVII. 61.

Phillips, Wendell. Argument of Wendell Phillips, Esq., against Repeal of the Personal Liberty Laws before the Committee of the Legislature, Tuesday, January 29, 1861. Boston, 1861.

——. No Slave Hunting in the Old Bay State, before Committee on Federal Relations, H. R., Thursday, Feb. 17, 1859. Boston, 1859.

——. Speech in the House of Representatives of Massachusetts before the Committee on Federal Relations [against the recapture of fugitive slaves]. Boston, 1859.

Pickard, Mrs. K. E. R. The Kidnapped and the Ransomed. Personal Reflections of Peter Still and his Wife Vina after Forty Years of Slavery. Syracuse, New York, 1856.

Pierce, E. L. Remarks of E. L. Pierce before the Committee of the Legislature of Massachusetts on the General Statutes relating to Personal Liberty, at their Hearing of Feb. 1, 1861. Boston, 1861.

Pomeroy, J. N. An Introduction to the Constitutional Laws of the United States. Boston, 1868.

Poole, W. F. Sketch of Antislavery Opinion before Year 1800. An Essay read before the Cincinnati Literary Club, Nov. 16, 1872. Cincinnati, 1873.

Randolph, Peter, an emancipated slave. Sketches of Slave Life. Boston, 1855. pp. 82.

Rantoul, Robert. Speech at Lynn, April 3, 1852, on the Fugitive Slave Law. Speech in Congress on June 11, 1852, on the Constitutionality of the Fugitive Slave Law.

Rendition of Fugitive Slaves. Acts of 1793 and 1850, and Decisions of the Supreme Court sustaining them. The Dred Scott Case. 1860. pp. 15.

Refugees' Home Society, Report of Committee. Winsor, 1852. pp. 8.

Report of the Trial of Castner Hanway for Treason, etc. Philadelphia, 1852. pp. 275.

Report of the Case of Edward Prigg against the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in Superior Court. Philadelphia, 1842.

Roper, Moses, Narrative of the Adventures and Escape of, from American Slavery. Philadelphia, 1838. pp. 89.

Sergeant, Thomas. On Constitutional Law. Philadelphia, 1830.

Seward, W. H. John Van Zandt, etc., Argument for Defendant by W. H. Seward. Albany, 1847. pp. 40.

Sherman, H. Slavery in the United States; from the Establishment of the Confederation to the present Time. Hartford, 1860. pp. 60.

Shipherd, J. R. History of Oberlin-Wellington Rescue. Boston, 1859.

Smedley, R. C., M. D. History of the Underground Railroad in Chester and neighboring Counties of Pennsylvania. Lancaster, Pa., 1883. pp. 395.

Smith, Gerrit. Argument on the Fugitive Slave Law, June, 1852, on the Trial of H. W. Allen for Kidnapping. Syracuse. pp. 32. No date.

South Bend Fugitive Slave Case, The. (John Ames vs. L. B. Newton.) New York. pp. 24.

Spooner, L. A Defence for Fugitive Slaves against the Acts of Congress of Feb. 12, 1793, and Sept. 18, 1850. Boston, 1850. Pam.

Stearns, Charles. Narrative of Henry Box Brown, who escaped from Slavery enclosed in a Box three feet long and two wide. Boston, 1849.

Stearns, Charles. The "Fugitive Slave Law of the United States."

Stevens, C. E. Anthony Burns (a Fugitive Slave). A History. Boston, 1856.

Still, W. The Underground Railroad. Philadelphia, 1872.

Stroud, G. M. Sketch of Laws relative to Slavery in the several States of the United States of America. Philadelphia, 1827. pp. 128.

Sumner, Charles. Fugitive Slaves. Brownson, XI. 487 (October, 1854).

Tappan, Arthur. The Life of. New York, 1870.

Thomas, B. F. A few Suggestions to a Friend upon Personal Liberty Laws and Secession (so called), in a Letter to a Friend. Boston, 1861.

Thompson, George. Prison Life and Reflections, Narrative of Trial, Imprisonment, etc. of Work, Burr, and Thompson for aiding Slaves to Liberty. Hartford, 1849.

——. The Negroes' Flight from American Slavery to British Freedom. 1849. pp. 16.

Watson, Henry. Narrative of Henry Watson, a Fugitive Slave. Written by himself. Boston, 1848. pp. 48.

Weld, S. D. American Slavery as it is: Testimony of Thousands of Witnesses. New York, 1839.

Wesley, Rev. J. The Rev. J. W. Loguen as a Slave and as a Freeman. Syracuse, New York, 1859.

Weston, G. M. Progress of Slavery in the United States. Washington, 1857.

White Slave, The: Or Memoirs of a Fugitive. Boston, 1852. pp. 408.

Whittier, John G. The Writings of John G. Whittier. Boston, 1888-89. 7 vols. 12mo.

Wigham, E. Antislavery Cause in America and its Martyrs. London, 1863.

Wilcox, A. The Powers of the Federal Government over Slavery. Baltimore, 1862. pp. 23.

Willey, Rev. Austin. History of the Antislavery Cause in State and Nation. Portland, 1886. pp. xii, 503.

Wilson, Henry. History of the Antislavery Measures in the 37th and 38th United States Congresses. Boston, 1865.

——. History of the Rise and Fall of the Slave Power in America. 3 vols. Boston, 1875-1877.

Williams, George W. History of the Negro Race in America. 2 vols. New York, 1883.

Wisconsin Supreme Court. Unconstitutionality of the Fugitive Slave Act. Decision in Case of Booth and Bycraft. Milwaukee, 1855.