Existing comment:
Abolition in Springfield
1780s-1830s
Massachusetts was in the vanguard of the anti-slavery movement. In 1783 a judicial decision by the state's Supreme Court brought slavery to an end in Massachusetts. However, the United States Constitution did not ban slavery. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793, enacted by the United States Second Congress, imposed a fine of $500 and up to a year in jail on anyone aiding a runaway slave. |