Lesson Plan: Sara Lucy Bagby and the Fugitive Slave Law Understanding Goal

Sectional disputes over the enforcement of fugitive slave laws increased tensions between the North and the South preceding the Civil War. The case of Sara Lucy Bagby involved an enslaved African American woman, her owner in Virginia, the abolitionist community in Cleveland, Ohio, and the enforcement of federal law.

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  What was the Fugitive Slave Law?
  
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  Who was Sara Lucy Bagby and what was her role in the debate over the Fugitive Slave Law?
  
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  How did tensions over the enforcement of and resistance to fugitive slave laws increase tension between the North and South in the years preceding the Civil War?
  

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  Excerpts from the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850
  
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  Political Cartoon “Practical Illustration of the Fugitive Slave Law”
  
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  Excerpt from Abraham Lincoln Speech
  
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  Extract from a speech of George William Brent in the Virginia Convention of 1861
  

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  Highlighters
  
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  Student Handout 1: Excerpts from the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850
  
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  Student Handout 2: Political Cartoon Analysis
  
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  Political Cartoon “Practical Illustration of the Fugitive Slave Law”
  
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  Student Handout 3: Abraham Lincoln Speech Excerpt
  
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  Student Handout 4: Extract from a speech of George William Brent in the Virginia Convention
  
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  Student Handout 5: “The Case of Sara Lucy Bagby” Worksheet
  
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  Student Handout 6: “The Fugitive Slave Law, You Decide” Worksheet
  
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  Student Handout 7: “The Fate of Sara Lucy Bagby”
  
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  Additional Reading: John E. Vacha, “The Case of Sara Lucy Bagby: A Late Gesture,” Ohio History 76 (1967): 222–231.
  

* All handouts can be downloaded with the PDF version of this lesson plan.

Tensions over slavery existed throughout the early history of the United States, even before there was a United States. Members of the 1787 Constitutional Convention wrangled over a variety of issues related to the “peculiar institution”—taxation and representation based on enslaved members of the population (resulting in the 3/5 compromise); whether or not to end the nation's participation in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade (solved by a 20-year nonintervention policy); and the return of fugitive slaves (a provision requiring their return was included in the final document, which was bolstered by another federal act in 1793).

At issue was not only how slavery was to be regarded under the law, but also where slavery would exist. One of the last acts of the government under the Articles of Confederation was to establish the Northwest Ordinance, banning the expansion of slavery into that territory. The same issue was at the heart of the controversy surrounding the proposed admission of Missouri to the Union in 1820, resulting in a compromise that established 36º 30′ as the northernmost boundary of slavery.

With the rise of abolitionism in the 1820s and 1830s in the United States, slave owners were forced to defend slavery as a “positive good” for all involved. During the early 1830s in particular, antislavery activists flooded Congress with petitions calling for the abolition of slavery in federal territories, submitting more than 300 petitions signed by 40,000 people. In 1836, southerners and their supporters in Congress instituted a “gag rule,” mandating that all such petitions be tabled and not heard by the body. Such a rule remained in force in the House of Representatives until 1844. These laws, however, only increased the determination of abolitionists, who submitted more than 400,000 signatures to Congress in 1838.

Controversies over slavery led to political wrangling between parties throughout the 1850s, from the Compromise of 1850, to the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854, and then to the subsequent bloodshed in Kansas between 1854 and 1858. What's more, the political landscape proved especially volatile, witnessing the demise of the Whigs, and the rise of the Free Soil, American or Know-Nothing, and Republican parties. The great orator of the United States Senate, Daniel Webster, delivered his famous speech on March 7, 1850, in which he voiced his support for the compromise, criticized the North, and lambasted the idea of disunion.

The desire of California to enter the Union as a free state caused problems, as it would upset the balance of power between slave states and free states. Southerners were willing to stall to prevent California's admission. To satisfy the parties involved, an omnibus bill was pushed through Congress. This collection of legislation allowed for the admission of California, banned the slave trade in the nation's capital (something abolitionists were campaigning for), and gave slave owners a stricter fugitive slave law.

The last became the subject of great debate among antislavery activists and free blacks in the North. Of particular concern were provisions that made it a crime to interfere in the return of so-called fugitive slaves, and the paltry evidence needed to stake a claim. In reaction, many Northern localities passed what were known as personal liberty laws, stating that they were not required to abide by federal laws that they considered to be morally reprehensible. In 1851 antislavery activists rescued fugitive slave Shadrach Minkins from jail in Boston and whisked him away to safety and freedom in Canada. Three years later in 1854, Anthony Burns, also a runaway slave captured in Boston, was returned to his owner in Virginia over the protestations of the city's active abolitionists. These incidents provided fodder for the claims of southerners.

By 1860 slavery had become a political powder keg. Southerners expressed concern about the willingness of the North, and the federal government if it came under Republican control, to enforce and uphold laws pertaining to fugitive slaves. They eagerly looked for examples of violations and published them throughout the Southern press. Sara Lucy Bagby's capture became a true test case on the question of slavery and the Union. And timing was everything. In November 1860, Lincoln had just won election to the presidency, and by January 19, 1861, five states had withdrawn from the Union. Virginia, along with the other states along the border and in the lower South, watched the situation with great interest.

1. 
   Background (10–15 minutes): Review with students the major debates over and the most important laws governing the institution of slavery in the United States from its founding to 1854. These should include the U.S. Constitution, the Missouri Compromise, the Wilmot Proviso, the Compromise of 1850, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and others.
   
2. 
   Fugitive Slave Act (20 minutes): First have students answer the question “What is a fugitive?” on their own. Next, share answers with the class to come up with a working definition of “fugitive.” Distribute Student Handout 1 with excerpts from the Fugitive Slave Act (excerpts can be given to individuals, partners, or small groups). Instruct students to read the excerpts from the Fugitive Slave Act, highlight the appropriate portions, and answer the questions.
   
3. 
   Political Cartoon Analysis (10–15 minutes): Distribute copies of the cartoon “Practical Illustration of the Fugitive Slave Law” and Student Handout 2, the Cartoon Analysis Worksheet. Give students time to analyze the cartoon and provide assistance where necessary. Especially important to this discussion is an overview of personal liberty laws, which were passed in many northern states in response to the Fugitive Slave Act. It may also be helpful to identify some characters with the class before they begin their individual analysis—for example, Daniel Webster as U.S. secretary of state, and William Lloyd Garrison as an abolitionist. Share student responses.
   
4. 
   Debate Over Enforcement (15 minutes): Divide students into pairs. Distribute handouts, alternating between Student Handout 3 (Lincoln Speech) and Student Handout 4 (Brent Speech). For more information on George William Brent see his biography at http://www.virginiamemory.com/online_classroom/union_or_secession/people/george_brent. Once the students have read the sources, discuss them. What are the tones of the pieces? Who were the audiences for each speech? How do they each reflect sectional opinions about fugitive slaves and the enforcement of the law?
   
5. 
   The Case of Sara Lucy Bagby (5–10 minutes): Distribute copies of Student Handout 5 to each student. Allow 3–4 minutes for reading. Questions covering the content of the historical background are included. Hold a brief discussion to answer any questions on the reading and illuminate any points that the teacher thinks are of note regarding the life of Sara Lucy Bagby. Distribute Student Handout 6, the “Fugitive Slave Law, You Decide” worksheet, and ask students to complete it based on the day's lessons. This can be assigned as homework.
   
6. 
   Assessment/Reflection (10 minutes): Review the “You Decide” worksheets, taking account of what the majority of students concluded. Discuss their responses. Next, display Student Handout 7: “The Fate of Sara Lucy Bagby,” and review it with the students. Are they surprised by the decision of the commissioner and the abolitionists of Cleveland?
   

Students can be given essay assignments on the following topic related to this article:

(1) Based on what you have learned about the Fugitive Slave Law and Sara Lucy Bagby, do you agree with what the people in Ohio did? Why or why not? Write a five-paragraph essay about whether or not the Fugitive Slave Law was constitutional. If you were a law enforcement official in Ohio at the time Sara Lucy Bagby’s case was being tried, would you have worked to enforce the law or overturn it?

(2) Examine the federal/state relationships discussed in the article or the North/South tension over enforcement of laws discussed in the article.

(3) Reflecting on the secession crisis, what role did the return of runaway slaves play in the increased tension between North and South? What was the northern position? What was the position of African Americans? What implications did the Bagby incident have for Virginia’s decision to secede?

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Sara Lucy Bagby and the Fugitive Slave Law