Hayes and the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850

Grades: 9-12                                           Time: 80-90 min

Topics: Race, Slavery, Civil Rights, Justice, Civil Discourse, Sectionalism, Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, 19^th Century Politics …

Goal/Central Focus Question: How did the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 influence the sectional crisis over slavery in the U.S. leading up to the Civil War?

Learning Objectives:    

1. Students will analyze a primary source by contextualizing the source, examining the credibility of the source, and creating historical interpretations supported by evidence from the text.
2. Students will explain how the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 influenced the sectional crisis over slavery in the U.S. leading up to the Civil War.
3. Students will connect historical themes to current topics and discuss civil discourse, compromise, and social change in today’s society.

Lesson Overview: Welcome back to a new 4-lesson unit that focuses on Rutherford B. Hayes and his evolving views on anti-slavery as he transformed from an anti-abolitionist to a defender of freedom seekers. This third lesson provides students with the contextual knowledge to understand the fundamental issues related to race, slavery, and civil rights leading up to the Civil War with a specific focus on the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 and its effects on the abolition movement and wider sectional conflict within the U.S. It also offers students an opportunity to take an active role in history and practice their historical analysis skills with a focus on examining the credibility of sources. The primary source analysis serves as a lens to explore these larger historical themes while also presenting a unique window into the lives of people at this time, engaging students in a conversation with those in the past and enabling further conversation in the present.

(Note- This lesson builds off skills, content, and themes from the previous lesson but can also be used on its own.)

Primary Sources

1. Coffin, Levi. “Escape from a Court Room.” In Reminiscences of Levi Coffin, 548-554. Cincinnati: Western Tract Society, 1876.
   • Full PDF/Full Text/ and XML files available at https://www.loc.gov/item/13005748/
   • Web version also available at https://docsouth.unc.edu/nc/coffin/coffin.html
   • Content Warning: primary source contains racial language that should be addressed appropriately in each class prior to students reading the document.

Optional Primary Sources

2. Carpenter, Samuel S. “Fugitive Slave Law: The Judicial Powers of Commissioners Unconstitutional.” New York Times. (New York, NY), July 4, 1854.

Optional Secondary Sources

1. McLochlin, Dustin. “The Case of Louis.” Rbhayes.org. Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library and Museums. Accessed August 11, 2023.

Pre-work

Students may read information in their textbooks or additional classroom materials regarding the growing sectional crisis in the U.S. leading up to the Civil War, including the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 (and wider Compromise of 1850). This pre-reading can be completed prior to the lesson and should provide a general overview of the era with enough foundational knowledge on the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 to begin reading the primary source.

Contextual Reading Suggestions

1. “The Fugitive Slave Law of 1850.” Constitutional Rights Foundation. Published winter 2019. Accessed August 11, 2023. https://www.crf-usa.org/images/pdf/Fugitive-Slave-Law-1850.pdf
2. McLochlin, Dustin. “Introduction to Fugitive Slave Cases.” Rbhayes.org. Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library and Museums. Accessed August 11, 2023. 

Students may record these vocabulary words in their notebooks for reference throughout the class. These words can also be displayed on a classroom board to support student learning. Or, if time allows, students may be provided with the words and asked to research and develop their own definitions.

Vocabulary

Opening (5 min)

Ask students to think of an opinion they have that’s changed over time. What made them change their mind? What factors contributed to this change (e.g. family, education, experience, time etc...)? Student responses may include simple opinions like food, music genres, and movies or more complex changes related to culture, society, and politics. Once students have discussed a few opinions specific to them, connect to present day changes that have occurred in our wider society over the last 30 years. Examples can include anything from widespread internet access to medical advancements to diversity and inclusion initiatives. Explain that change over time is natural; this is true for individuals as much as it is for society and can be witnessed throughout history.

Connect to today’s lesson: One period of substantial societal change and transformation in the U.S. occurred during the 1850s, as the sectional crisis and debate over slavery took center stage and individuals were forced to take a stance following the Mexican-American War. Today, we’ll be looking at how laws and legal developments influenced the sectional crisis over slavery in the U.S. during the 1850s.

Introduce today’s central focus question and learning objectives to students: “How did the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 influence the sectional crisis over slavery in the U.S. leading up to the Civil War?”

Student Activities (65-70 min)   

Provide a brief overview of the Compromise of 1850 with a specific focus on the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.

• Following the annexation of Texas and the Mexican-American War, tensions over the sectional issue of slavery and its expansion westward only increased. The balance between free and slave states was disrupted once again when California applied to enter the U.S. as a free state in 1849. In an attempt to resolve the sectional crisis over slavery, Congress passed the Compromise of 1850, a series of 5 bills originally outlined by Senator Henry Clay that included California’s admittance to the U.S. as a free state and abolished the slave trade in Washington D.C. However, it also established a stricter fugitive slave law that enforced and expanded upon the original law passed in 1793, which had been widely disregarded throughout the North.
• The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850:
  • Required the North to return all freedom seekers to the South and authorized the use of federal enforcement to do so
  • Denied freedom seekers right to a jury trial
  • Placed all cases in front of a Commissioner, who would be paid $5 if the individual was declared free but $10 if they were returned to the South
• Once passed, the new law had a direct impact on the lives of many freedom seekers in the North and resulted in a number of legal cases. Today, we’ll be taking a closer look at one of these cases as well as the northern response to the controversial law and its consequences.

Introduce the analysis activity to students. The reading is an excerpt from Levi Coffin’s Reminiscences, an autobiography first published in 1876, and tells the story of Louis, one of the freedom seekers whose life was threatened by the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Considering the type of source, students will continue practicing their analysis skills with an additional focus on examining the credibility of sources. If students are familiar with analyzing autobiographies and examining credibility, they can begin the activity. If more support is needed, these questions may be presented to guide student learning:

• Analyzing Autobiographies/Memoirs in History:
  • What is an autobiography? An account of a person’s life written by that person
  • Autobiography pros/cons in historical research?
  • Pros: in-depth account of information directly from the source, human connection to history, allow us to view the past through someone else’s eyes and understand their thoughts/emotions at the time
  • Cons: potential inaccuracy of information (whether intentional or unintentional), unreliable nature of memory, one-sided perspective, chance of missing information or a gap in information
  • Main takeaway: important to consider the source’s subjective nature when drawing conclusions and cross verify information when possible 

Pass out the primary source, “‘Escape from a Court Room’ in Reminiscences of Levi Coffin” and the Analysis Handout listed in attachments below. Copies of these resources may also be posted to an online class forum like Google Classroom.

• Note for Differentiated Instruction: The Analysis Handout provides a graphic organizer with instructions for annotating primary sources and guiding questions to support student analysis. Please feel free to use and/or adapt any of these tools to best support student learning in your classroom context.
• Teacher modeling may be used to support student analysis. Model how to analyze the primary source, using the graphic organizer to identify an historical term, person, or event that requires more context to understand. Research the topic briefly as a class and create a short summary together, being sure to cite the source with enough information to locate it again. If more support is needed, this activity can be completed as a class. If less support is needed, this step may be skipped to provide a challenge for students. Students who have substantial experience analyzing primary sources may complete the analysis activity without the help of these tools.

Review the materials and instructions with students. This activity can be completed by individuals, pairs, or in groups. It can also be completed together as a class. Encourage students to be curious analyzers by asking questions of the source and investigating unfamiliar topics. Students may also be reminded to follow the main ideas of analysis: “observe, reflect, question.”

Have students read through the primary sources and complete their analyses. Once students have completed their analyses, review student work as a class, summarize key learning, and connect to future lessons.

• The Compromise of 1850, which included the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, was passed in an attempt to resolve the sectional crisis over slavery. However, the North had strong objections the new Fugitive Slave Act:
  • Seen as the largest display of federal interference in state government to date
  • It essentially forced individuals in the North, where abolitionism and anti-slavery sentiment had steadily been growing since the early 19^th century, to participate in the slave system by retuning freedom seekers to the South.
• Abolition support and anti-slavery sentiment increased in the North following the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 as the new law angered but also encouraged many who had remained neutral before to begin taking practical action against slavery. This included individuals who joined the work of those already helping freedom seekers on the Underground Railroad and lawyers like Hayes who worked to undermine the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 and defend freedom seekers like Louis. While Hayes may have been mainly motivated by his concern of federal overreach, his actions reflect the beginning of a shift in views as he transformed from an anti-abolitionist to a defender of freedom seekers. This change did not occur in isolation. Rather, it was part of a wider shift in Hayes’s society that occurred leading up to the Civil War, as the sectional differences between the North and South solidified and the sectional crisis over slavery worsened.

Closing (10-15 min)

Hold a large group discussion on civil discourse, compromise, and social change connecting historical themes to current topics in U.S. government. If helpful to increase student engagement, these discussion questions can be given ahead of time to allow students an opportunity to consider their responses and record their answers. Discussions can also be held in pairs and small groups.

Discussion Questions 

• Prior to the Civil War, Congress attempted multiple compromises to solve the sectional issue over slavery like The Compromise of 1850. In your opinion, did these compromises succeed in solving the sectional crisis? Why or why not?
• Do you think compromise is always the answer or do you think there’s ever a time when it’s best to stand one’s ground on an issue? What does that mean for us today as we navigate our own social and political conflicts?
• Rutherford B. Hayes underwent a transformation of views that reflected a wider change in his society. What do you make of this change? What are some areas you believe need further change in our society? In your opinion, how do we best achieve this social, cultural, or legal change?

Contingencies

Shorten: The autobiography can be used as a class reading assignment in any lesson related to the growing sectional crisis over slavery in the U.S. during the 1850s. The analysis activities can be saved for a future primary source. If analysis activities are completed but time is short, student findings and discussion questions can be reviewed the following class day.

Lengthen: Students may read additional primary sources in Optional Primary Resources. Students may also perform a secondary source analysis to expand upon their interpretation of the primary source. Secondary sources are available under Optional Secondary Sources.

Attachments

Primary Source(s)

Analysis Handout

References and Additional Reading

1. Coffin, Levi. “Escape from a Court Room.” In Reminiscences of Levi Coffin, The Reputed President of the Underground Railroad. Cincinnati: Western Tract Society, 1876. Accessed August 11, 2023. https://www.loc.gov/item/13005748/
2. “Compromise of 1850 (1850).” National Archives. (May 10, 2022). https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/compromise-of-1850
3. “Last Ditch Efforts at Compromise.” Digital History.com (2021). https://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtid=2&psid=3057
4. McLochlin, Dustin. “Introduction to Fugitive Slave Cases.” Rbhayes.org. Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library and Museums. Accessed August 11, 2023. https://www.rbhayes.org/research/introduction-to-fugitive-slave-cases/
5. McLochlin, Dustin. “Levi Coffin: The ‘President of the Underground Railroad.’” Rbhayes.org. Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library and Museums. Accessed August 11, 2023. https://www.rbhayes.org/research/levi-coffin-the-president-of-the-underground-railroad/
6. McLochlin, Dustin. “The Case of Louis.” Rbhayes.org. Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library and Museums. Accessed August 11, 2023. https://www.rbhayes.org/research/the-case-of-louis/
7. “The Fugitive Slave Law of 1850.” Constitutional Rights Foundation. (Winter 2019). https://www.crf-usa.org/images/pdf/Fugitive-Slave-Law-1850.pdf
8. Wingert, Cooper. “1850 Fugitive Slave Law: US Commissioners: Samuel S. Carpenter.” Dickenson College (2023). https://blogs.dickinson.edu/hist-wingert/uscommissioners/samuel-s-carpenter/