Artifacts
These handcuffs were placed on Anthony Burns when he was marched down State Street in June 1854.
In May 1854, Anthony Burns sought freedom in Boston, Massachusetts. Slave catchers arrested him under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Burns was one of several arrests made in the four years since the passing of the federal law. Abolitionists grew restless from these kidnappings and planned to free him in some way. After a failed breakout attempt, Burns was rendered back to enslavement in these hand cuffs. Some 1500 Marines, officers, and Federal Marshalls marched Burns down State Street to an awaiting steamship. This was the last fugitive slave case to preside in Boston, and Burns’ freedom was soon bought by abolitionists. He spoke at Tremont Temple in Boston on his way to Canada.
