The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 passes and sends panic through the North Slope of Beacon Hill. Slave Catchers are on the hunt in northern cities like Boston. Thousands of free African Americans are fleeing the country. Abolitionists are challenging The Constitution of the United States. Anthony Burns, a former slave living freely in Boston is arrested. People in Boston and as far away as Worcester are rallying to save Burns from a return to slavery, and the country is headed toward Civil War.
The Boston Abolitionists Project is a devised theater piece that explores the turmoil surrounding the people of Massachusetts during the mid-eighteen fifties leading up to the dawn of the Civil War.
Developed as part of The National Civil War Project.
