Contributor |
Harned, William, distributor. |
Title |
"No higher law." [graphic] / |
Publisher |
New York : For sale by Wm. Harned, 61 John Street |
Publisher |
N.Y. New York. 1851 |
Date |
[1851] |
Physical Description |
1 print : woodcut ; sheet 25 x 34 cm (10 x 13.25 in.) |
Description |
Antislavery print denouncing the immorality of the Fugitive Slave Law by exploiting abolitionist Senator William H. Seward's
famous quote that "a higher law" than the Constitution should exist regarding slavery. Shows "King Slavery," depicted as a
bearded, bare-chested, white man, attired in a crown made of finger bones and armed with pistols in his waistband. The King
sits and leans upon the arm of his throne composed of the "Fugitive Slave Bill," the Bible, and human skulls as he defiantly
holds a whip of chains above his head. An American flag on a pole billows behind the throne. Below the throne, Seward, depicted
as a priest, looks up and raises his left hand toward the King. He stands before a cat-faced altar inscribed "Sacred to Slavery,"
which rests upon a book of "Law" and pours oil from a container onto the altar fire, generating clouds of smoke. In the right,
three enslaved men squat with their heads bowed. Senator Daniel Webster gestures toward them and holds a paper supporting
the Fugitive Slave Bill "to the fullest extent." Near them, "Freedom," depicted as a bearded, white man and attired in a robe,
displays his sense of defeat by removing his crown and lowering his liberty pole. In the left, an African American man freedom
seeker fends off dogs attacking him. An African American woman freedom seeker and two children flee from two white men mercenaries
on horseback and run toward a white woman with outstretched arms in front of a house. In the right background, the figure
of Liberty falls from her pedestal.
|
Is referenced by |
Weitenkampf p. 102 |
Notes |
Title from item. |
|
Place of publication inferred from the residence of the distributor. |
|
Weitenkampf suggests date of publication as 1851. |
|
Text printed on recto: Price $3 A Hundred And Six Cents Single Copy. |
|
William Harned was an abolitionist printer in New York who also published the pamphlet, "The Fugitive Slave Bill:...." in
1850. (LCP Am 1850 Fug 16809.D.1).
|
|
A.B. Maurice and F.T. Cooper's The History of the 19th century in caricature (New York: Dodd, Mead, and Company, 1904), p.
156.
|
|
Lib. Company. Annual Report, 2000, p. 40-2. |
|
Purchase 1999. |
|
RVCDC |
|
Description revised 2021. |
|
Access points revised 2021. |
|
Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the
Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom
Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
|
Subject |
Seward, William Henry, 1801-1872 -- Caricatures and cartoons. |
|
Webster, Daniel, 1782-1852 -- Caricatures and cartoons. |
|
United States. Fugitive slave law (1850) |
|
African American children -- Caricatures and cartoons. |
|
African American men -- Caricatures and cartoons. |
|
African American women -- Caricatures and cartoons. |
|
African Americans -- Caricatures and cartoons. |
|
Allegories. |
|
Altars. |
|
Animal attacks. |
|
Antislavery movements -- United States. |
|
Chasing. |
|
Dogs. |
|
Liberty. |
|
Fugitive slaves -- United States. |
|
Slavery -- United States. |
|
Enslaved persons -- United States. |
|
Thrones. |
|
Enslaved children -- United States. |
|
Enslaved men -- United States. |
|
Enslaved women -- United States. |
|
Freedom seekers -- United States. |
|
Mercenaries -- United States. |
|
Slavery -- Constitutional law. |
Genre |
Anti-slavery prints -- United States -- 1850-1860. |
|
Political cartoons -- 1850-1860. |
|
Woodcuts -- 1850-1860. |
Location |
Library Company of Philadelphia| Print Department| political cartoons - 1851 - 2W [P.9739] |
Accession number |
P.9739 |