Virginia Hamilton (19 page)

For once I wanted readers to have a book in which the oppressed slave, a common man, was at the center of his own struggle.

V
IRGINIA
H
AMILTON
New York City
December 1987

Selections from the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850

THE ACT AMENDED THE
original law of 1793, entitled “
An Act respecting Fugitives from Justice, and
Persons escaping from the Service of their Masters
,” approved February 12, 1793.

The Fugitive Slave Act was part of the formula in the Compromise of 1850 for settling differences between North and South. The Compromise included the admission of California as free state, the Texas and New Mexico Act, the Utah Act, the Fugitive Slave Act, and an Act Abolishing the Slave Trade in the District of Columbia.

Sections of the Fugitive Slave Act pertinent to
Anthony Burns
follow.

S
EC.
5. That it shall be the duty of all marshals and deputy marshals to obey and execute all warrants and precepts issued under the provisions of this act, when to them directed; and should any marshal or deputy marshal refuse to receive such warrant, or other process, when tendered, or to use all proper means diligently to execute the same, he shall, on conviction thereof, be fined in the sum of one
thousand dollars, to the use of such claimant, … and after arrest of such fugitive, by such marshal or his deputy, or whilst at any time in his custody under the provisions of this act, should such fugitive escape, whether with or without the assent of such marshal or his deputy, such marshal shall be liable, on his official bond, to be prosecuted for the benefit of such claimant, for the full value of the service or labor of said fugitive in the State, Territory or District whence he or she escaped: and the better to enable the said commissioners, when thus appointed, to execute their duties faithfully and efficiently, in conformity with the requirements of the Constitution of the United States and of this act, they are hereby authorized and empowered, within their counties respectively, to appoint … any one or more suitable persons, from time to time, to execute all such warrants and other process as may be issued by them in the lawful performance of their respective duties; with authority to such commissioners, or the persons to be appointed by them, to execute process as aforesaid, to summon and call to their aid the bystanders, or
posse comitatus
of the proper county, when necessary to ensure a faithful observance of the clause of the Constitution referred to, in conformity with the provisions of this act; and all good citizens are hereby commanded to aid and assist in the prompt and efficient execution of this law, whenever their services may be required, as aforesaid, for that purpose; and said warrants shall run, and be executed by said officers, any where in the State within which they are issued.

S
EC.
6. That when a person held to service or labor in a State or Territory of the United States, has heretofore or shall hereafter escape into another State or Territory of the United States, the person or persons to whom such service
or labor may be due … may pursue and reclaim such fugitive person, either by procuring a warrant from some one of the courts, judges, or commissioners aforesaid, of the proper circuit, district, or county, for the apprehension of such fugitive from service or labor, or by seizing and arresting such fugitive, where the same can be done without process, and by taking, or causing such person to be taken, forthwith before such court, judge, or commissioner, whose duty it shall be to hear and determine the case of such claimant in a summary manner, and upon satisfactory proof being made, by deposition or affidavit, in writing, to be taken and certified by such court, judge, or commissioner, or by other satisfactory testimony, duly taken and certified by some court, … and with proof, also by affidavit, of the identity of the person whose service or labor is claimed to be due as aforesaid, that the person so arrested does in fact owe service or labor to the person or persons claiming him or her, in the State or Territory from which such fugitive may have escaped as aforesaid, and that said person escaped, to make out and deliver to such claimant, his agent or attorney, a certificate setting forth the substantial facts as to the service or labor due from such fugitive to the claimant, and of his or her escape from the State or Territory in which he or she was arrested, with authority to such claimant … to use such reasonable force and restraint as may be necessary, under the circumstances of the case, to take and remove such fugitive person back to the State or Territory whence he or she may have escaped as aforesaid. In no trial or hearing under this act shall the testimony of such alleged fugitive be admitted in evidence; and the certificates in this … section shall be conclusive of the right of the person or persons in whose favor granted, to remove such fugitive to
the State or Territory from which he or she escaped, and shall prevent all molestation of such person or persons by any process issued by any court, judge, magistrate, or other person whomsoever.

S
EC.
7. That any persons who shall knowingly and willingly obstruct, hinder, or prevent such claimant, his agent or attorney, or any person or persons lawfully assisting him, her, or them, from arresting such a fugitive from service or labor, either with or without process as aforesaid, or shall rescue, or attempt to rescue, such fugitive from service or labor, from the custody of such claimant, … or other person or persons lawfully assisting as aforesaid, when so arrested, … or shall aid, abet, or assist such person, … directly or indirectly, to escape from such claimant, … or shall harbor or conceal such fugitive, … shall, for either of said offences, be subject to a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, and imprisonment not exceeding six months … ; and shall moreover forfeit and pay, by way of civil damages to the party injured by such illegal conduct, the sum of one thousand dollars, for each fugitive so lost as aforesaid… .

S
EC.
9. That, upon affidavit made by the claimant of such fugitive, … that he has reason to apprehend that such fugitive will be rescued by force from his or their possession before he or she can be taken beyond the limits of the State in which the arrest is made, it shall be the duty of the officer making the arrest to retain such fugitive in his custody, and to remove him or her to the State whence he or she fled, and there to deliver him or her to said claimant, his agent, or attorney. And to this end, the officer aforesaid is hereby authorized and required to employ so many persons as he
may deem necessary to overcome such force, and to retain them in his service so long as circumstances may require… .

S
EC.
10. That when any person held to service or labor in any State or Territory, or in the District of Columbia, shall escape there from, the party to whom such service or labor shall be due … may apply to any court of record therein … and make satisfactory proof to such court … of the escape aforesaid, and that the person escaping owed service or labor to such party. Whereupon the court shall cause a record to be made of the matters so proved, and also a general description of the person so escaping, with such convenient certainty as may be; and a transcript of such record … being produced in any other State, Territory, or district in which the person so escaping may be found … shall be held and taken to be full and conclusive evidence of the fact of escape, and that the service or labor of the person escaping is due to the party in such record mentioned. And upon the production by the said party of other and further evidence if necessary, either oral or by affidavit, in addition to what is contained in the said record of the identity of the person escaping, he or she shall be delivered up to the claimant. And the said court, commissioner, judge, or other person authorized by this act to grant certificates to claimants of fugitives, shall, upon the production of the record and other evidences aforesaid, grant to such claimant a certificate of his right to take any such person identified and proved to be owing service or labor as aforesaid, which certificate shall authorize such claimant to seize or arrest and transport such person to the State or Territory from which he or she escaped… . Summary entry excerpted from
Encyclopedia of American History
(edited by Richard B. Morris, copyright © 1953 by Harper & Row, Inc.; reprinted by permission of the publisher):

     [P]laced fugitive slave cases under exclusive Federal jurisdiction; provided for special U.S. commissioners who were authorized, following a summary hearing, to issue warrants for the arrest of fugitives and certificates for returning them to their masters. An affidavit by the claimant was accepted as sufficient proof of ownership. A feature of the law that abolitionists regarded as especially prejudicial was the authorization of a $10 fee for commissioners when such a certificate was granted, and of only $5 when it was refused. The commissioners were authorized to call to their aid bystanders, or to summon a
posse comitatus
, when deemed necessary for enforcing the law. Fugitives claiming to be freemen were denied the right of trial by jury, and their testimony was not to be admitted as evidence at any of the proceedings under the law. Heavy penalties were provided for evasion or obstruction. Marshals and deputies refusing to execute warrants were liable to a $l,000 fine; and in cases where the fugitives escaped through official negligence, the marshal might be sued for the value of the slave. Citizens preventing the arrest of a fugitive, or aiding in his concealment or rescue, were subject to a fine of $1,000, imprisonment up to six months, and civil damages of $1,000 for each fugitive so lost.

Note:
A
posse comitatus
was the Marshal's guard, and in the Burns case included Butman, Riley, and others. It was much the same as a posse in the old West, or even like those of today.

A Biography of Virginia Hamilton

Virginia Hamilton (1934–2002) was the author of forty-one books for young readers and their older allies, including
M.C. Higgins, the Great
, which won the National Book Award, the Newbery Medal, and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, three of the most prestigious awards in youth literature. Hamilton's many successful titles earned her numerous other awards, including the international Hans Christian Andersen Award, which honors authors who have made exceptional contributions to children's literature, the Coretta Scott King Award, and a MacArthur Fellowship, or “Genius Award.”

Virginia Esther Hamilton was born in 1934 outside the college town of Yellow Springs, Ohio. She was the youngest of five children born to Kenneth James and Etta Belle Perry Hamilton. Her grandfather on her mother's side, a man named Levi Perry, had been brought to the area as an infant probably through the Underground Railroad shortly before the Civil War. Hamilton grew up amid a large extended family in picturesque farmlands and forests. She loved her home and would end up spending much of her adult life in the area.

Hamilton excelled as a student and graduated at the top of her high school class, winning a full scholarship to Antioch College in Yellow Springs. Hamilton transferred to Ohio State University in nearby Columbus, Ohio, in order to study literature and creative writing. In 1958, she moved to New York City in hopes of publishing her fiction. During her early years in New York, she supported herself with jobs as an accountant, a museum receptionist, and even a nightclub singer. She took additional writing courses at the New School for Social Research and continued to meet other writers, including the poet Arnold Adoff, whom she married in 1960. The couple had two children, daughter Leigh in 1963 and son Jaime in 1967. In 1969, the family moved to Yellow Springs and built a new home on the old Perry-Hamilton farm. Here, Virginia and Arnold were ableto devote more time to writing books.

Hamilton's first published novel,
Zeely
, was published in 1967.
Zeely
was an instant success,winning a Nancy Bloch Award and earning recognition as an American Library Association Notable Children's Book. After returning to Yellow Springs with her young family, Hamilton began to write and publish a book nearly every year. Though most of her writing targeted young adults or children, she experimented in a wide range of styles and genres. Her second book,
The House of Dies Drear
(1968), is a haunting mystery that won the Edgar Allan Poe Award.
The Planet of Junior Brown
(1971) and
Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush
(1982) rely on elements of fantasy and science fiction. Many of her titles focus on the importance of family, including
M.C. Higgins, the Great
(1974) and
Cousins
(1990). Much of Hamilton's work explores African American history, such as herfictionalized account
Anthony Burns: The Defeat and Triumph of a Fugitive Slave
(1988).

Hamilton passed away in 2002 after a long battle with breast cancer. She is survived by her husband Arnold Adoff and their two children.

For further information, please visit Hamilton's updated and comprehensive website:
www.virginiahamilton.com