"The whole land is full of blood."

These ominous words were uttered by James W. C. Pennington, the former slave and noted abolitionist, in the wake of Thomas Sims's infamous trial (GLC 09088). Sims had escaped from slavery in Georgia before being captured in April 1851 and taken to court under the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. The judge decided in favor of Sims's owner, and the seventeen-year-old slave was marched through the streets of Boston by United States Marines before being returned to Georgia. The authoritarian nature and public spectacle of Sims's case sent a resounding message to slaves who sought refuge in the north. It also inflamed anti-slavery sentiment, spurring many abolitionists to action.

Pennington could closely sympathize with the plight of Thomas Sims. In 1827 he escaped from slavery in Maryland. Pennington traveled first to Pennsylvania before settling in Brooklyn, where he worked as a blacksmith while attending night classes. Since Yale would not enroll him as a regular student, he audited courses in Yale's School of Divinity and obtained his ordination and license in 1838. Pennington's achievements were remarkable as a scholar and abolitionist. He is noted for establishing an argument for the African origins of western European civilization, and is also known for presiding as minister over Frederick Douglass's marriage to Anne Murray. In this letter, Pennington offers us a glimpse into the frustrating struggle of abolition at a time when fugitive slave laws provoked pivotal and legendary court rulings. In his words, "These cases are enough to break one's heart- It is difficult to see how the enormous evil and crime of Slavery can be carried to a greater extent."

Alyson Barrett, Manuscript Librarian
Gilder Lehrman Collection