First fugitive slave case in Philadelphia under new federal law
In the first ruling in Philadelphia following passage of the new federal Fugitive Slave Act, Justice Robert Cooper Grier freed a black man who had been claimed as a runaway slave by Mary Saunder. The verdict sparked celebrations outside the courthouse and results in two arrests of local blacks. (By Matthew Pinsker)
Source Citation
"Effects of the Fugitive Slave Law," Ohio State Journal, October 22, 1850, p. 3.