Fugitive Slave
Anthony Burns
Anthony Burns.
Boston: R. M. Edwards, 1855
Wood engraving with letterpress
Prints & Photographs Division
Copyright deposit, 1855 (100A)
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This is a portrait of fugitive slave Anthony Burns (ca.1830-1862),
whose arrest and trial in Boston under the provisions of the Fugitive
Slave Act of 1850 incited riots and protests by white and black
abolitionists and citizens of Boston in the spring of 1854. The
portrait is surrounded by scenes from his life, including his sale
on the auction block, escape from Richmond, Virginia, capture and
imprisonment in Boston, and his return to a vessel to transport
him to the South. Within a year after his capture, abolitionists
were able to raise enough money to purchase Burns's freedom.
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