Effects of the Fugitive-Slave-Law

This print, published in the fall of 1850, shows a group of four Black men, possibly freedmen, ambushed by a posse of six armed whites in a cornfield. One of the white men fires on them, while two of his companions reload their muskets. Two of the Blacks have evidently been hit; one has fallen to the ground while the second staggers, clutching the back of his bleeding head. The two others react with horror. Below the picture are two texts, one from Deuteronomy in the Bible: “Thou shalt not deliver unto the master his servant which has escaped from his master unto thee. He shall dwell with thee. Even among you in that place which he shall choose in one of thy gates where it liketh him best. Thou shalt not oppress him.” The second text is from the Declaration of Independence: “We hold that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

Source: "Effects of the Fugitive-Slave-Law," lithograph. Published by Hoff & Bloede, New York, 1850. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs.