Boston Vigilance Committee
The Boston Vigilance Committee (1841–1861) was an
Members coordinated with donors and
History
Founding (1841)
The Boston Vigilance Committee was formed on June 4, 1841, in response to a public call issued by Charles Turner Torrey and several other signers. The founding meeting was held in the Marlboro Chapel on Washington Street, near Boston Common. According to William Cooper Nell, those present at the first meeting represented "various classes of our citizens, white and colored, (the latter of whom were quite numerous,) persons of different religious persuasions," members of other anti-slavery organizations, and "friends of the oppressed colored man" who were not yet affiliated with any such groups.[1] The original officers were Francis Jackson, Chairman; Charles T. Torrey, Secretary; and Joseph Southwick, Treasurer. The original Executive Committee was composed of Daniel Mann, Benjamin Weeden, Curtis C. Nichols, Thomas Jinnings Jr., William Cooper Nell, J. P. Bishop, John Rogers, and S. R. Alexander.[2]
A constitution was adopted that same evening, the first article of which stated the group's purpose:
The object of this Association shall be to secure to persons of color the enjoyment of their constitutional and legal rights. To secure this object, it will employ every legal, peaceful, and Christian method, and none other.[2]
By the end of 1841, Torrey had tired of the slow pace of political abolitionism and moved to Washington, D.C.; within a few years he would be dead in prison, having helped free hundreds of slaves in the Washington area.
In the fall of 1842, attorney
Four years later, abolitionists learned that a fugitive slave was being held on a ship in Boston Harbor, but were unable to rescue him. According to one historian, this event triggered the formation of the Boston Vigilance Committee.[9] It is not clear whether the committee that formed in 1846 was entirely new or a revival of the existing committee. Records show 19 fugitives from the South applying to the committee for financial and legal aid from 1846 to 1847. It may have disbanded in 1847 when no new attempts were made to arrest fugitive slaves in Boston.[9]
Reorganization (1850)
On September 18, 1850, Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, requiring free states to assist with the capture and return of fugitive slaves. On October 4, the Boston Vigilance Committee called a public meeting in Faneuil Hall to discuss how to respond. Noted abolitionists Frederick Douglass and Theodore Parker addressed the crowd, which was one of the largest ever convened in the hall. This meeting is often referred to as the first or founding meeting. Presumably, many new members were unaware of the original committee's existence.[10]
The new officers were
The Committee was racially integrated and had over 200 members.
Many locals who were not members provided aid to escapees and were reimbursed by the Committee.
Although the committee was interracial, it never had more than eight black members.[20][Note 1] With a few exceptions, the white members tended to be more cautious than the black members, preferring to supply legal and financial aid while black Bostonians did most of the actual relief work behind the scenes. Higginson later complained in his memoir that "half of them were non-resistants," prone to indecision and inertia. Black Bostonians had more at stake, and were more willing to use force to achieve their ends.[22]
Vigilance committees such as Boston's were not uncommon in the years leading up to the American Civil War. Boston's was unusual in that its treasurer kept detailed records for the years 1850 to 1861. For example, one entry for December 26, 1850, reads, "Isabella S. Holmes, boarding Geo. Newton, Fugitive, $3.43."[23] This was extremely risky given that such activities were illegal at the time, and punishable by jail time and stiff fines.[24]
Ellen and William Craft
In 1848, William and Ellen Craft escaped slavery in Georgia and made their way to the
Other members of the committee, meanwhile, set to work harassing the two slave catchers, Willis Hughes and John Knight.[26] They posted hundreds of handbills all over the city, describing the appearance of the two men. The lawyers had Hughes and Knight arrested again and again on various charges: slander (for claiming that William Craft had stolen the clothing in which he escaped), carrying concealed weapons, smoking in the street, swearing in public, and attempted kidnapping. Each time they were bailed out by pro-slavery sympathizers. On one occasion, as they emerged from the courtroom, they were mobbed by a crowd of black abolitionists, and fled in a carriage; they were then arrested for speeding, and for "running the toll when chased over Cambridge bridge."[27]
The Crafts remained in hiding in Boston for several weeks, staying at various locations before fleeing to England in January. On November 7, 1850, they were married by Theodore Parker.[28]
Shadrach Minkins
In 1850, Shadrach Minkins escaped from slavery in Virginia and made his way to Boston, where he found work as a waiter. One morning in February 1851 he was serving breakfast when he was arrested by federal marshals and taken away to the federal courthouse in Boston. The Boston Vigilance Committee hired a team of lawyers to defend Minkins, including Richard Henry Dana Jr., Ellis Gray Loring, Robert Morris, and Samuel E. Sewall. Members posted handbills warning abolitionists that slave catchers had been seen in Boston. Protesters thronged in front of the courthouse, calling for Minkins' release.[29]
On February 15, 1851, a group of about 20 black activists led by Lewis Hayden stormed the courthouse and released Minkins by force. Among them were
At least three committee members were arrested for taking part in the rescue: Lewis Hayden, Robert Morris, and Elizur Wright. The Committee hired lawyers to defend them (and others), and all were acquitted.[31] Wright, the only white man arrested, had not voluntarily taken part in the rescue, but had been standing in the courtroom when it happened and was swept along by the crowd.[32]
Thomas Sims
Thomas Sims had escaped slavery in Georgia and was living in Boston when he was seized by federal marshals in 1851. The Committee hired attorney John Albion Andrew to advise him.[33] Sims was locked in a room on the third floor of the federal courthouse. Committee members Lewis Hayden, Reverend Thomas Wentworth Higginson, and John Murray Spear, along with the Reverend Leonard A. Grimes, planned to place mattresses under Sims's cell window so he could jump out and make his getaway in a horse and chaise, but the sheriff barred the window before they could act.[34]
The federal government sent U.S. Marines to march Sims down the streets of Boston, to be taken away on a warship and transferred back to Georgia. Sims was sold to a new slaveholder in Mississippi, but escaped in 1863 and returned to Boston.[33]
Anthony Burns
In 1853, Anthony Burns escaped slavery in Virginia and settled in Boston, where he found work in a clothing shop. In May of the following year, he was arrested and imprisoned in a room on an upper floor of the court house. Attorney John A. Albion led a team of Vigilance Committee lawyers in an unsuccessful defense. Wendell Phillips and Theodore Parker offered $1,300 for Burns's freedom, but were turned down.[35]
That night, a mob led by Reverend Higginson attacked the courthouse with axes and beams. They broke down the southwest door of the courthouse and started up the stairs, but were confronted by armed guards. During the melee, Higginson's friend Martin Stowell shot and killed a police officer, James Batchelder.
When the time came for Burns to be transported back to Virginia, Bostonians protested in the streets. The Vigilance Committee paid for "alarm banners" and "alarm bells" to be used in the demonstration, and distributed hundreds of abolitionist pamphlets and placards. They also circulated a petition for the removal of Judge
Weeks later, Higginson, Phillips, and Parker were charged with inciting a riot by making abolitionist speeches. The Committee hired lawyers to defend them and got the indictment quashed. Reverend Grimes and other abolitionists raised funds to purchase Burns's freedom, and he returned to Massachusetts.[36]
Disbandment
According to
Notable members
A more complete list can be found in Austin Bearse's 1880 memoir, Reminiscences of Fugitive-Slave Law Days in Boston.[38]
- Amos Bronson Alcott[39]
- John A. Andrew[39]
- Edward Atkinson[39]
- John Augustus[39]
- Austin Bearse[40]
- John A. Bolles[39]
- John Botume Jr.[39]
- Henry Ingersoll Bowditch[41]
- William Ingersoll Bowditch[41]
- Anson Burlingame[39]
- Thomas Carew[39]
- William Henry Channing[39]
- John P. Coburn[42]
- Nathaniel Colver[39]
- Richard Henry Dana Jr.[10]
- William Lloyd Garrison[43]
- Timothy Gilbert[44]
- Daniel W. Gooch[44]
- Lewis Hayden[12]
- Thomas Wentworth Higginson[45]
- Richard Hildreth[44]
- John T. Hilton[44]
- Charles F. Hovey[44]
- Samuel Gridley Howe[46]
- Timothy W. Hoxie[44]
- Francis Jackson[43]
- William Jackson[47]
- John P. Jewett[44]
- Joel W. Lewis[44]
- Ellis Gray Loring[33]
- James Russell Lowell[44]
- Bela Marsh[44]
- Samuel May, Jr.[44]
- Robert Morris[48]
- William Cooper Nell[49]
- Theodore Parker[50]
- Wendell Phillips[33]
- Henry Prentiss[51]
- Edmund Quincy[51]
- John Swett Rock[52]
- Samuel E. Sewall[33]
- Joshua Bowen Smith[53]
- Isaac H. Snowden[51]
- John Murray Spear[33]
- Lysander Spooner[51]
- Charles Turner Torrey[2]
- Mark Trafton[51]
- Elizur Wright[51]
See also
- Slavery in Massachusetts
- Origins of the American Civil War
- History of African Americans in Boston
- Abolition Riot of 1836
Notes
- Benjamin Quarles, the New England Freedom Association eventually merged with the Boston Vigilance Committee, which would have added quite a few more black men to the list, such as John J. Smith. Presumably, the association's female members were excluded.[21]
References
Citations
- ^ Nell (2002), p. 99.
- ^ a b c Nell (2002), p. 100.
- ^ Torrey (2013), pp. 69, 157.
- ^ a b "The Underground Railroad in American History". National Park Service. Archived from the original on 2009-01-18. Retrieved 2017-08-08.
- ^ Jacobs (1993), pp. 175–76.
- ^ Quarles (1969), p. 153.
- ^ Snodgrass (2015), p. 478.
- ^ Tiffany (1898), p. 70.
- ^ a b Collison (2009), p. 87.
- ^ a b Siebert (1952), p. 25.
- ^ Bearse (1880), p. 6.
- ^ a b Jacobs (1993), p. 93.
- ^ Snodgrass (2015), p. 256.
- ^ Snodgrass (2015), p. 235.
- ^ Snodgrass (2015), p. 44.
- ^ "The Secret Six". American Heritage.
- ^ Nell (2002), p. 18.
- ^ Jackson (1861), pp. 6, 12.
- ^ Stowe (1853), pp. 6–7.
- ^ Collison (2009), p. 83.
- ^ Quarles (1969), p. 153.
- ^ Collison (2009), pp. 83–84.
- ^ Jackson (1861), p. 4.
- ^ Siebert (1952), p. 24.
- ^ Siebert (1952), pp. 26–28.
- ^ Collison (2009), p. 91.
- ^ Collison (2009), p. 96.
- ^ Siebert (1952), p. 27.
- ^ a b Snodgrass (2015), pp. 366–67
- ^ "Boston African American NHS Park Brochure, Side 2" (PDF). National Park Service.
- ^ Siebert (1952), p. 31; Collison (2009), pp. 142, 195.
- ^ Collison (2009), p. 126.
- ^ a b c d e f Snodgrass (2015), p. 485.
- ^ Siebert (1952), p. 32.
- ^ a b c Snodgrass (2015), p. 89.
- ^ a b Siebert (1952), pp. 38–39; Snodgrass (2015), p. 89.
- ^ Siebert (1952), p. 23.
- ^ Bearse (1880), pp. 3–6.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Bearse (1880), p. 3.
- ^ Snodgrass (2015), p. 44.
- ^ a b Snodgrass (2015), p. 68.
- ^ Snodgrass (2015), p. 123.
- ^ a b Snodgrass (2015), p. 959.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Bearse (1880), p. 4.
- ^ Siebert (1952), p. 39.
- ^ Snodgrass (2015), p. 928.
- ^ Calarco (2011), p. 38.
- ^ Jacobs (1993), p. 85.
- ^ Snodgrass (2015), p. 382.
- ^ Snodgrass (2015), p. 1305.
- ^ a b c d e f Bearse (1880), p. 5.
- ^ Snodgrass (2015), p. 863.
- ^ Snodgrass (2015), p. 499.
Bibliography
- Bearse, Austin (1880). Reminiscences of Fugitive-Slave Law Days in Boston. Boston: Warren Richardson.
- Calarco, Tom; Vogel, Cynthia (2011). Places of the Underground Railroad: A Geographical Guide. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-0313381461.
- Collison, Gary Lee (2009). Shadrach Minkins: From Fugitive Slave to Citizen. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0674029798.
- Jackson, Francis (1861). The Boston Vigilance Committee Appointed at the Public Meeting at Faneuil Hall, October 21st, 1850, to Assist Fugitive Slaves: Treasurers Accounts.
- Jacobs, Donald M. (1993). Courage and Conscience: Black & White Abolitionists in Boston. Indiana University Press. p. 93. ISBN 978-0-253-20793-7.
- ISBN 978-1574780192.
- ISBN 978-0306804250.
- Siebert, Wilbur H. (1952). "The Vigilance Committee of Boston". Proceedings of the Bostonian Society, Annual Meeting, January 16, 1951. Boston: Bostonian Society. pp. 23–45.
- ISBN 978-1317454151.
- Stowe, Harriet Beecher (1853). A Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin. John P. Jewett & Company. p. 6.
- Tiffany, Nina Moore (1898). Samuel E. Sewall: A Memoir. Houghton, Mifflin and Company. p. 70.
- Torrey, E. Fuller (2013). The Martyrdom of Abolitionist Charles Torrey. LSU Press. ISBN 978-0807152324.
Further reading
- Beshara, Christopher J. (October 9, 2009). "The Hidden History of Black Militant Abolitionism in Antebellum Boston". University of Sydney.
- ISBN 9781404781849.