With each new day, the slavery question is dividing the nation and plunging it deeper into violence. You can hardly pick up a newspaper or go into the streets without hearing heated discussions taking place over whether slavery should be abolished or not. Violence over the issue has broken out in some parts of the country as some abolitionists and slavery-sympathizers have resorted to using guns to settle their debates. This whole slavery question has exploded since the Fugitive Slave Act was passed by Congress in four years ago. The Fugitive Slave Act states that slaves must be returned to their rightful owners even if they are in a so-called "Free States". Before this law, the penalty for helping an escaped slave was low; so, if a slave made it into Free Terrirtory they could be considered as free men and women. Now, the police in Boston, New York, and elsewhere are required to arrest suspected runaways and turn them over to be returned to their masters. Many folks who hadn't any opinion about slavery are now being drawn into the whole debate. Do southern planters have a right to use the police to get back their 'property'? We abolitionists say "of course, not!" It is our God given duty to fight against the injustice of slavery even if it means being thrown in jail.

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A whole secret network has developed whose sole mission is to sneak runaway slaves to freedom in the north or Canada. This network has existed since colonial times. However, since the 1830s, secret codes using railroad terminology like 'depots' and 'conductors' has turned this movement into a highly organized effort which some are calling the Underground Railroad. The passage of the Fugitive Slave Act has made our effort of helping runaway slaves even more difficult. In fact, anyone caught helping a runaway slave, even the police, are faced with 6 months in prison and a $1,000 fine! That's more than most people make in 3 years.