Wisconsin Supreme Court defies federal authority and declares the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act unconstitutional in July. The US Supreme Court later reverses the Wisconsin court ruling in 1859 in Abelman v. Booth.
[This post is still under construction, more forthcoming in 2023]
Date(s): escaped 1856; recaptured and rescued September 13, 1858
Location(s): Kentucky; Oberlin, Ohio; Wellington, Ohio
Outcome: Freedom
Summary:
Oberlin-Wellington Rescuers (Ohio History Connection)
John Price escaped from slavery in Kentucky in 1856 and settled in Oberlin, Ohio, a staunchly antislavery town in central Ohio. Federal officers and Kentucky slave catchers caught up with Price on September 13, 1858 and spirited Price away to nearby Wellington. Outraged Oberlin residents quickly mobilized to rescue Price. Within a few hours, a large crowd of Black and white Oberlin residents had surrounded the slave catchers, who were holed up inside a Wellington hotel, ultimately overpowering the Kentuckians and freeing Price. Federal authorities charged 37 Ohio residents for their roles in Price’s rescue, but only managed to convict two abolitionists to relatively light sentences.
House of Representatives approves the 13th Amendment 119 to 56 on January 31, sending it to the states for ratification.
[This post is still under construction, more forthcoming in 2023]
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