US authorities recapture freedom seeker Margaret Garner and her family near Cincinnati, Ohio on January 28. Rather than see her family returned to slavery, Garner kills her youngest child before federal officers seize her. The US government eventually returns Garner and her family to slavery under the Fugitive Slave Act, but not before the tragic case shocks more Northerners into speaking out against slavery.

[This post is still under construction, more forthcoming in 2023]