Massachusetts may be known for the Boston Tea Party, but slavery remains an unsung part of its history. While some museums and churches recognize their connections to slavery trade activities, others do not acknowledge them.
Brom and Bett v. Ashley (the Mum Bett case), was the inaugural freedom suit arguing slavery violated New Hampshire's new state constitution.
Liberators
Slavery may be most commonly associated with the Caribbean and American South, but it also existed in New England. According to historians' estimates, between 1755-1764 2.2 percent of Massachusetts residents were estimated as slaves - concentrated predominantly in industrial and coastal towns.
One way enslaved people sought freedom was to escape. Although records about such cases are often scarce, documents such as a deposition regarding Pompey and an anonymous letter that mentions being aboard Susan demonstrate how many slaves fled to other colonies and even Great Britain to search for freedom.
Other enslaved people sought legal relief through lawsuits. Benjamin Kent of Massachusetts represented slaves in freedom suits as early as 1752 and won their initial case within the colonies; due to this success and that of other freedom advocates like himself and other white people joined their effort as freedom advocates themselves.
After the Revolution, legal systems gradually amended many laws that sanctioned slavery; however, slaves continued to experience uncertainty regarding their rights. Finally in 1781 - known collectively as "Quock Walker case" by historians - the Supreme Judicial Court issued rulings declaring slavery unsuitable for state constitution that had recently been adopted and therefore outlawing it altogether.
Garrison used The Liberator newspaper published in Boston during the antebellum period and Civil War to condemn all those who supported slavery; such as those who claimed that its foundation lies within the Constitution itself.
Massachusetts' Abolition movement had another important result - to make blacks aware that their true freedom could only come when all whites were also free. Wendell Phillips, a Harvard law graduate who gave up a lucrative career to dedicate himself to antislavery causes like Wendell Phillips did; his inspiring speeches focused on individual liberty and equality for all peoples were instrumental in shaping antislavery sentiment during this era of struggle against slavery. This exhibit highlights letters and photographs from Phillips' archive to depict freedom by another name being practiced well into the Civil War years.
Abolitionists
Massachusetts is best known for its history of innovation and invention, yet its impact extends far beyond this field. Massachusetts was home to religious and political activism. Abolitionist movements began here and quickly spread throughout other Northern states.
Abolitionist movements were propelled by an increase in religious fervor known as the Second Great Awakening. This encouraged adopting morals centered on the idea that all humans are created equally before God.
Massachusetts Abolitionists were greatly enlightened by a sense of morality which inspired them to fight slavery and demand equality for all people. Massachusetts Abolitionists used their voices and writings to mobilize other abolitionists as well as the general public against slavery.
William Lloyd Garrison was an early and prominent abolitionist. A Christian pacifist, he condemned anyone who condoned slavery. Shortly after issuing The Liberator for publication, a religiously motivated enslaved man named Nat Turner led Virginia slaves in an insurrection; many blamed Turner's revolt on abolitionism thereby linking it with slave rebellions.
Harriet Beecher Stowe was among a host of abolitionists who used writing and speaking as tools of influence on others. Though she shared her father's stance against slavery in principle, Harriet Beecher Stowe only truly became active after marrying Theodore Dwight Weld who initially worried that her preoccupation with women's rights might distract from fighting slavery - however, he eventually came to recognize her leadership ability for leading against it.
Massachusetts was home to notable abolitionists like Samuel Blake, who established a school for runaway slaves in Providence; John Brown took over the United States arsenal at Harpers Ferry; Massachusetts also was among the first states to recognize same-sex marriage, and became a center for manufacturing.
Slave Catchers
Millions of visitors flock to Boston annually, visiting its historic churches, graveyards, and parks that make up the Freedom Trail. Yet few discuss the fact that slavery played an intricate part in 18th-century Massachusetts life.
Early 1600s saw the arrival of Africans into Massachusetts, and by 1700 enslaved Blacks made up a significant proportion of Boston's population. Unlike in Southern colonies, Massachusetts Blacks lived more integrated into daily life - they worked as cooks, house servants, and even business owners; making them an irrepressible force in everyday society.
Most white businessmen relied heavily on slaves as an income source; some even built fortunes entirely through slave trade - like Peter Faneuil in Boston who amassed his fortune trafficking African slaves to Boston and selling them off via public auctions at Merchants Row nearby.
Contrary to what was often found in Southern states where massive plantations slave owners owned massive cotton and tobacco farms where slaves worked harvesting cotton, Massachusetts slave owners generally did not have enough land to justify separate living quarters for their slaves; as a result, many slaves shared living spaces with their owners which caused numerous tensions between both groups.
Slave catchers or "slave hunters," as they were more commonly known, were individuals responsible for tracking down escaped slaves who had managed to leave their plantations homes. Most often these hunters were male; women may also serve in this capacity. It remains unknown how widespread this practice was across states but it did occur and helped create an atmosphere hostile towards escapees that culminated with Garrison's speech against them.
Debates exist concerning the role of slave catchers in ending slavery in Massachusetts. But one thing is evident: two court cases involving escaped slaves known as Quock Walker and Mum Bett were pivotal in dismantling white confidence in slave property rights while emboldening those enslaved to demand freedom or manumission.
Slave Trade
Every year, 4 million visitors to Boston visit its churches and graveyards along the Freedom Trail, yet most remain unaware of its dark underbelly: slavery. Slavery's reach extended deep into every aspect of Massachusetts life during this era even without massive plantation holdings like in other Southern states - slaves could often be found serving industrial hubs or domestic staffing for wealthy households.
By the 1700s, one out of every four households owned slaves; many of these households belonged to middle-class artisans, merchants, and ship captains who used slaves for personal work as well as renting them out to others and sometimes keeping some within their homes themselves.
Boston was an active hub in the slave trade between West Africa and the Caribbean, receiving ships carrying captive Native American Natives for sale into slavery; ships would then transport those captives over to be exchanged for African enslaved people and raw materials; newspapers regularly advertised "likely young Africans" who had just arrived or been in West Indies for months or even years; owners would pay taxes on their slaves; wills and estate inventories provided documentation as to their value to wills or estate inventories.
Although some slaves rebelled against their masters, most simply resisted quietly. If anyone did choose to fight back they risked severe punishment ranging from public whippings and exile to death, but some managed to fight their way towards freedom through legal efforts like the 1781 Berkshire County case known as Quock Walker cases; this landmark decision along with two others declared slavery illegal under Massachusetts constitution.
Unfortunately, this victory did not lead to widespread abolition. Many white Bostonians were indifferent to the fate of Black people following slavery's legal end and this indifference provided unscrupulous individuals an opening to kidnap free Black children and sell them back into areas that still allowed slavery under various names and circumstances. Some individuals argue that slavery continues to haunt America even today.
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