The Last Runaway

American abolitionism preexists the United States as a country; Rhode Island initially made bondage lasting more than 10 years illegal in 1652, though the state would legalize slavery and the trade of enslaved people in 1700 (“Rhode Island, Slavery, and the Slave Trade.” EnCompass). Much of colonial America saw similar abolition and re-legalization of enslavement. During and after the American Revolution, various states abolished slavery, with differing laws about whether or not people previously enslaved in those states would be freed. By 1798, all US states had abolished the transatlantic slave trade, though South Carolina re-legalized the trade from 1803-1807. An 1808 federal law led the Port of Charleston to once again close to the importation of enslaved people. Despite this, those currently held into or born into slavery (following the enslaved status of their mothers) remained in bondage.

By the mid-19th century, slavery was the preeminent political and moral issue. Attitudes were divided among those who were pro-slavery, those who were anti-slavery with a focus on preventing the expansion of legal slavery, those who were anti-slavery but espoused gradual emancipation (including Abraham Lincoln), and those who were anti-slavery and demanded immediate emancipation and abolition. Abolitionists aided those escaping enslavement to freedom via a network of safe houses and safe routes called the Underground Railroad. This network consisted primarily of free Black people, though some white Americans, including numerous Quakers, aided in helping escapees to freedom.

Western Ohio was a key location in the Underground Railroad due to the state’s proximity to both Kentucky, where slavery was legal, and Canada. Oberlin was a center of this abolitionist activity. In 1858, the “Oberlin-Wellington Rescue” occurred when a large group of Oberlinites followed federal officials to Wellington to liberate a man named John Price, who had been captured under the Fugitive Slave Law. The 37 rescuers (12 of whom were formerly enslaved themselves) were arrested but freed when Ohio state authorities arrested the federal officials in turn. The incident reached national headlines, causing increased visibility on the divisive abolitionist movement (“Rhode Island, Slavery, and the Slave Trade”). Oberlin College was known for its students’ abolitionism; it was one of the first colleges in the United States to admit both Black and white students.