The 1850 Fugitive Slave Law caused clashes between Southern slave catchers and Northern abolitionists, who were against slavery and saw it as a threat to freedom in free states. From 1851 to 1861, armed confrontations occurred in several Northern communities. The Christiana Riot was one of the earliest and happened in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania in 1851. This area, which borders Maryland along the lower reaches of the Susquehanna River, had two branches of the Underground Railroad, and many fugitive slaves from Maryland and other slave states made their way into the region, often aided by anti-slavery Quakers.
In September 1851, the Gorsuch family, who were slaveholders, swore out warrants under the provisions of the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law to arrest their escaped slaves, John Beard, Thomas Wilson, Alexander Scott, and Edward Thompson, who were living in Lancaster County. This led to the Christiana Riot, during which Edward Gorsuch and his men attempted to enact the arrest warrants with the help of US Marshals. Eliza, the wife of William Parker, a free African American, blew a horn, and sympathetic neighbors, including former slaves and free black and white abolitionists, confronted the Gorsuch party. A fight broke out, resulting in the death of the elder Gorsuch and the wounding of his son. The US Marshals and slave catchers retreated.
The Marshals returned later with three detachments of US Marines, but William Parker and his wife Eliza were already on their way to Canada, helped by Frederick Douglass and other abolitionists. Thirty-eight other men were arrested, including four white Quakers, and charged with treason. Castner Hanway, the first man brought to trial, was acquitted, and the other 37 men were released.
The Northern abolitionists hailed the acquittal of all the defendants as a significant victory against slavery and the Fugitive Slave Act. However, Southerners felt that their property was not safe even in the North. This riot, along with other events such as "Bleeding Kansas" and John Brown's Raid at Harper's Ferry, contributed to the nation's march toward the Civil War.
Resources:
Christiana Riot: 1851 Resistance By Freedom Seekers (thoughtco.com)
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