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332:, back to slavery in Virginia. Sims' and Burns' cases are often compared, and, similar to Sims, Burns was escorted by the U.S. Marines to a ship headed for Virginia. By the time of Burns' deportation, his cause had become so famous that 50,000 people watched federal officers take him to the wharf. Within two years, Burns was back in Boston after the abolitionists raised $ 1,300 to pay for Burns' freedom.
200:) had a harder time as the terms of the Fugitive Slave Act favored the prosecution of the case. The Fugitive Slave Act stated that the testimonies of escaped slaves on trial could not be used as actual evidence in the hearing, but because the act also required a trial in a "summary manner," there was not adequate time for the defense to find their witnesses.
256:, another fugitive slave, escape the custody of U.S. Marshals, became desperate and came up with multiple plans to free Sims, including placing mattresses under Sims' cell window so that he could jump out and make his getaway in a horse and chaise. The sheriff, however, barred the window before they could act.
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On April 13, Sims was marched down to a ship and returned to
Georgia under military protection. Sims exclaimed that he would rather be killed and asked for a knife multiple times. Many people marched in solidarity with Sims to the wharf. Upon his return to Savannah, Sims was publicly whipped 39 times
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The "trial" (Commissioner Curtis was not a judge) that followed was a matter of whether personal property or individual liberty prevailed in the end. Each side tried to explain why one was predominantly superior over the other, with differing viewpoints presented throughout the case. The prosecution
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began, he determined to escape. Selecting a few trusty companions, he took a boat, with his wife and child, and rowed down the river. The night was moonlight, and there was great risk of discovery, but the hand of
Providence drew a cloud over the moon as the voyagers passed the rebel batteries. The
203:
In
Rantoul's opening statement for Sims, he tried explaining that the Constitution did not allow for people bound by service to be sent back without full proof, which was not being given at the moment. Sims' lawyers attempted to buy him more time, claiming that Sims was still a free man by being in
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The trial took place three days after his arrest and garnered much attention from the abolitionists and people of the North. Extra precautions were taken at the Court House. Between 100 and 200 policemen were stationed and chains were placed around the courthouse to prevent the crowds from swarming
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Boston and questioning the
Commissioner's authority to remand Sims, when he was not even a judge. Commissioner Curtis gave them the weekend to continue preparing for the case, as he wanted be fair and allow them to present a more thoroughly fleshed out case for Sims. Later, Rantoul argued the
129:
Sims was born in
Savannah, Georgia to James Sims, a white Slave overseer on the Potter Rice Plantation, and Minda Campbell, a slave under rice planter James Potter. The exact date of his birth is unknown, but it is estimated to be around 1828. He was the brother of Isabella, Cornilla and
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put it, "Shame that the great
Republic, 'the refuge of the oppressed,' should stoop so low as to become the Hunter of Slaves." Chief Justice Wells was one of the few who refused to bend down to cross as he believed it lowered both his dignity and that of the city of Boston.
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The "Sims
Tragedy" was a major controversy among the abolitionists in Massachusetts and drew sympathy from many other abolitionists, as well. The following year, in 1852, his arrest and trial were remembered in a church ceremony featuring Reverend Theodore Parker.
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Sims made his escape on
February 21, 1851, by stowing away on the M. & J.C. Gilmore. He was 23 at the time. On March 6, right before the ship's arrival to Boston, the ship's crew discovered Sims. Sims tried to convince them that he was a freed slave from
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party met no accident, escaped into
Federal lines and obtained a special pass from General Ulysses S. Grant to return to Boston. In regard to matters at Vicksburg, Sims states that the rebel army is upon short rations, and is in a terrible condition."
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The Boston
Vigilance Committee looked to find some way to help free Sims while outside of the courtroom, and tried to think of everything that they could in order to help at least give Sims more time. They attempted to submit a
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Once James Potter, Sim's owner, realized Sims whereabouts, he sent his agent, John B. Bacon, to capture Sims. Bacon coordinated together with Seth J. Thomas and the authorities of Boston, including U.S. Commissioner
228:, but there were none available and thus, he had to do it. Sims was officially labeled a slave of James Potter and if the Georgia courts wanted to reexamine the case after Sims was returned, they were allowed to.
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to the court, claiming that Sims was being deprived of his rights to life, liberty, and property. He also attacked the constitutionality of the law itself, trying to find something to be able to let Sims go free.
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in 1877. Sims was one of the first slaves to be forcibly returned from Boston under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. The failure to stop his case from progressing was a significant blow to the
737:
280:, the U.S. Marshal who was ordered to return Sims to Georgia, unsuccessfully tried to buy Sims' freedom. Sims was able to escape yet again, and returned to Boston in 1863 during the
179:
Unintentionally, however, the chains became a symbol of the influence of slavery in the North. Individuals who needed to enter the Court House had to crouch under the chains, and as
159:. According to newspaper reports of the time, he "made no effort to conceal himself" while living there, but was not caught until he sent his address to his wife asking for money.
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At the conclusion of the case, the court ruled that Sims would be sent back to the South. Commissioner Curtis stated that he would have liked to pass on the duty to an actual
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109:, had a court hearing, and was forced to return to enslavement. A second escape brought him back to Boston in 1863, where he was later appointed to a position in the
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151:, but the crew did not believe him and locked him up in a cabin. Sims escaped before authorities came, and from then until his arrest in April, he stayed at 153
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Devens, however, did not forget about Sims, and when he became U.S. Attorney General in 1877, Devens appointed Sims to a position in the
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produced the papers that showed that Sims was a former slave and called witnesses to attest to this fact. The defense (
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Original caption: “Boston police and night watch conveying the fugitive slave, Sims, to the vessel.” Engraving from
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Following the court trial, Sims was sent back to Georgia against the strong protests of abolitionists. The
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Levy, Leonard W. (January 1950). "Sims' Case: The Fugitive Slave Law in Boston in 1851".
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The Slave Catchers: Enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Law, 1850–1860
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268:. In Mississippi he was put to work as a bricklayer in Vicksburg.
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Broadside announcing the first anniversary of Thomas Sims'
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Schwartz, Harold (1954). "Fugitive Slave Days in Boston".
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Boston African American community prior to the Civil War
988:(abolitionist, lawyer, politician, son of David Walker)
704:. University of North Carolina Press. pp. 117–121.
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American who escaped slavery but was reenslaved by law
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1215:Charles Street African Methodist Episcopal Church
284:. According to a May 1863 account in the Kenosha
1285:Boston African American National Historic Site
770:Boston African American National Historic Site
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682:"The Trials of Thomas Sims and Anthony Burns"
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1276:(Joy Street, Southack Street (now Phillips))
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994:(abolitionist, father of Edward G. Walker)
970:(abolitionist, public speaker, journalist)
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242:Gleason's Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion
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1153:Massachusetts General Colored Association
684:. ComputerImages Corporation. 2012-03-04.
435:"Thomas Sim's epic struggle for freedom"
155:, a boarding house for African American
119:events leading to the American Civil War
19:For other people named Thomas Sims, see
952:(dentist, doctor, lawyer, abolitionist)
922:(Rev. War soldier, Freemason, activist)
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832:(slave memoirists, abolitionists)
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874:(abolitionist, Rev. War soldier)
458:Massachusetts Historical Society
328:ordered another fugitive slave,
940:(teacher, abolitionist, author)
862:(abolitionist, slave memoirist)
473:Boston Daily Evening Transcript
452:Martin, Susan (February 2018).
1300:Lewis and Harriet Hayden House
252:, which had previously helped
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700:Campbell, Stanley W. (2011).
1404:19th-century American slaves
1290:Charles Street Meeting House
920:George Middleton (1735–1815)
439:Chattanooga Times Free Press
381:The Journal of Negro History
97:who escaped from slavery in
73:1902 (aged 73–74)
21:Thomas Sims (disambiguation)
1055:1857 Supreme Court decision
820:(minister, slave memoirist)
541:– via newspapers.com.
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1368:Copp's Hill Burying Ground
1073:Fugitive Slave Act of 1850
964:(abolitionist, politician)
886:(abolitionist, politician)
670:. Oxford University Press.
533:. April 5, 1851. p. 6
298:U.S. Department of Justice
250:Boston Vigilance Committee
111:U.S. Department of Justice
107:Fugitive Slave Act of 1850
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1238:(Mass. Rev. War soldiers)
880:(freemason, abolitionist)
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666:McPherson, James (1988).
571:The New England Quarterly
525:"The Fugitive Slave Case"
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1419:Fugitive American slaves
1329:Influential publications
1155:(abolitionism, equality)
982:(minister, abolitionist)
958:(college grad., teacher)
868:(abolitionist, minister)
856:(abolitionist, minister)
1242:Prince Hall Freemasonry
1165:Prince Hall Freemasonry
1026:Back-to-Africa movement
830:Ellen and William Craft
826:(abolitionist, soldier)
648:. 1863-05-14. p. 1
42:Portrait of Thomas Sims
1383:Abolition Riot of 1836
1373:William Lloyd Garrison
1305:George Middleton House
1220:Twelfth Baptist Church
1052:Dred Scott v. Sandford
1010:associated individuals
934:(abolitionist, writer)
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1310:William C. Nell House
1210:African Meeting House
1187:African Meeting House
789:Prominent individuals
668:Battle cry of freedom
646:The Telegraph-Courier
511:registration required
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194:Charles Greely Loring
125:Early life and family
103:Boston, Massachusetts
1280:Black Heritage Trail
836:Rebecca Lee Crumpler
775:Black Heritage Trail
198:Samuel Edmund Sewall
1320:John J. Smith House
1181:Home of Primus Hall
1008:Relevant topics and
956:John Brown Russwurm
932:William Cooper Nell
804:(college professor)
796:Macon Bolling Allen
142:Escape from slavery
1264:Abiel Smith School
1193:Abiel Smith School
1096:History of slavery
904:(Rev. War soldier)
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264:to a new owner in
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1295:John Coburn House
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1018:Black nationalism
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475:. April 4, 1851.
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