Oberlin–Wellington Rescue
The Oberlin–Wellington Rescue of 1858 in was a key event in the history of
John Price, an escaped slave, was arrested in
Thirty-seven rescuers were indicted, but as a result of state and federal negotiations, only two were tried in federal court. The case received national attention, and defendants argued eloquently against the law. When rescue allies went to the 1859 Ohio Republican convention, they added a repeal of the Fugitive Slave Law to the party platform. The rescue and continued activism of its participants kept the issue of slavery as part of the national discussion.[1]
Precedent
On March 5, 1841, a group described by local newspapers as supposed "fanatical abolition anarchists" from Oberlin, using saws and axes, freed two captured fugitive slaves from the Lorain County jail.[2]
Events
On September 13, 1858, a runaway
As soon as residents heard of the marshal's actions, a group of men rushed to Wellington. They joined like-minded residents of Wellington and attempted to free Price, but the marshal and his deputies took refuge in a local hotel. After peaceful negotiations failed, the rescuers stormed the hotel and found Price in the attic. The group immediately returned Price to Oberlin, where they hid him in the home of
Trial
A federal
On January 11, the 37 celebrated at a dinner in the Palmer House in Oberlin. In a lengthy article about it in a Cleveland paper, the toasts were published.[4]
Feelings ran high in Ohio in the aftermath of Price's rescue. When the federal grand jury issued its indictments, state authorities arrested the federal marshal, his deputies, and other men involved in John Price's detention. After negotiations, state officials agreed to release the arresting officials, while federal officials agreed to drop the charges and release 35 of the men indicted.[5]
Simeon M. Bushnell, a white man, and Charles H. Langston were the only two who went to trial.[3] Four prominent local attorneys—Franklin Thomas Backus, Rufus P. Spalding, Albert G. Riddle, and Seneca O. Griswold—acted for the defense. The jurors were all known Democrats. After they convicted Bushnell, the same jury was called to try Langston, despite his protests that they could not be impartial.
Langston gave a speech in court that was a rousing statement of the case for abolition and for justice for colored men. He closed with these words:
But I stand up here to say, that if for doing what I did on that day at Wellington, I am to go to jail six months, and pay a fine of a thousand dollars, according to the Fugitive Slave Law, and such is the protection the laws of this country afford me, I must take upon my self the responsibility of self-protection; and when I come to be claimed by some perjured wretch as his slave, I shall never be taken into slavery. And as in that trying hour I would have others do to me, as I would call upon my friends to help me; as I would call upon you, your Honor, to help me; as I would call upon you [to the District-Attorney], to help me; and upon you [to Judge Bliss], and upon you [to his counsel], so help me GOD! I stand here to say that I will do all I can, for any man thus seized and help, though the inevitable penalty of six months imprisonment and one thousand dollars fine for each offense hangs over me! We have a common humanity. You would do so; your manhood would require it; and no matter what the laws might me, you would honor yourself for doing it; your friends would honor you for doing it; your children to all generations would honor you for doing it; and every good and honest man would say, you had done right!
— Great and prolonged applause, in spite of the efforts of the Court and the Marshal to silence it.[6]
The jury also convicted Langston. The judge gave light sentences: Bushnell 60 days in jail and Langston 20.
Appeal
Bushnell and Langston filed a writ of
Members of Ohio's abolitionist community were incensed. More than 10,000 people participated in a
Aftermath
In time, regional tensions over slavery, constitutional interpretation, and other factors led to the outbreak of the Civil War. The Oberlin-Wellington rescue is considered important as it not only attracted widespread national attention but occurred in a region of Ohio known for its
Two participants in the Oberlin–Wellington Rescue—
See also
- Chatham Vigilance Committee, a related set of rescues with former graduates of Oberlin College
References
- ^ a b c Matt Lautzenheiser, "Book Review: Ronald M. Baumann, 'The 1858 Oberlin-Wellington Rescue: A Reappraisal' " Archived July 8, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, Northern Ohio Journal of History, accessed Dec 15, 2008
- ^ "Abolitionism—Oberlin Negro Riot". Democratic Standard (Georgetown, Ohio). March 23, 1841. p. 2. Archived from the original on October 3, 2019. Retrieved October 3, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c William and Aimee Cheek, "John Mercer Langston: Principle and Politics", in Leon F. Litwack and August Meier, eds., Black Leaders of the Nineteenth Century, University of Illinois Press, 1991, pp. 106–111
- newspapers.com.
- ^ "Oberlin-Wellington Rescue Case" Archived 7 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine, Ohio History Central, 2008, accessed Dec 15, 2008
- ^ "Charles Langston's Speech in the Cuyahoga County Courthouse, May 1859" Archived 5 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine, Oberlin College, accessed Dec 15, 2008
Further reading
- Baumann, Roland. The 1858 Oberlin-Wellington Rescue: A Reappraisal (2003)
- Brandt, Nat. The Town that Started The Civil War (1990) (ISBN 0-8156-0243-X/BRTT)
- Shipherd, Jacob R. History of the Oberlin-Wellington Rescue (1859) (ISBN 0837127297 ) Available in full at OhioMemory.org
- newspapers.com.
External links
- Oberlin Heritage Center
- "An Account of the Trials of Simeon Bushnell and Charles Langston", by the Oberlin–Wellington Rescuers, 1859, Oberlin College
- "Charles Langston's Speech at the Cuyahoga County Courthouse, May 12, 1859", Oberlin College