Slavery in Massachusetts

<p><span style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>I would remind my countrymen that they are to be men first and Americans only at a late and convenient hour. </span></p><p><span style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>- Henry David Thoreau Slavery in Massachusetts (1854)</span></p><p><br></p><p><span style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>Slavery in Massachusetts (1854) was originally delivered as a speech on July 4 1854 at an anti-slavery rally in Framingham Massachusetts defending the rights of Baptist slave preacher Anthony Burns. Burns had escaped slavery in Virginia and was later captured in Boston put on trial and returned to Virginia. Later published as an essay Thoreau condemns the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 and asserts that violence may be necessary for progress in the abolition of slavery. This inspiring essay is especially significant in times of social unrest and is a testament to Thoreau's insight into social justice.</span></p>