,,speech ,,of ,,john ,,hossack1         
,,convicted ,,of ,a    ,,violation ,,of 
,,the ,,fugitive ,,slave ,,law1         
,,before ,,judge ,,drummond1    ,,of    
,,the    ,,united ,,states ,,district   
,,court1 ,,chicago1 ,,ill4      ,,new   
,,york3 ,,published ,,by ,,the          
,,american ,,anti-,,slavery ,,society4  
#ahfj4          ,,speech ,,of ,,john    
,,hossack4           ,at the ,february  
term of the ,u4,s4 ,district ,court for 
the       ,northern ,district of        
,illinois1 ,,john ,,hossack and ,,joseph
 ,,stout1       of ,ottawa1 were        
convicted of having aided in rescuing a 
fugitive slave from the custody of the  
,u4,s4 ,deputy ,marshal at              
,ottawa1 ,oct4 #bj1 #ahei1 and sentenced
 by ,judge ,drummond to pay       a fine
 of one hundred dollars1 and be         
imprisoned ten days4       ,mr4         
,,hossack is a ,scotchman by birth1 but 
spent many years of       his life in   
,quebec1 following the occupation of a  
baker4       ,about twenty years since1 

he removed to ,ottawa1 ,illinois1 and   
assisted in the construction of the     
,illinois and ,michigan       ,canal4   
,he has been for some years past a      
prominent dealer in       grain1 has    
acquired a competency by enterprise and 
industry1       and is considered one of
 the most upright and intelligent       
citizens in the community4 ,the         
following ,plea1 made by him            
before the ,court1 evinces true nobility
 of soul1 the highest       moral       
integrity1 the most generous humanity1  
and genuine       manly eloquence4 ,let 
it be read in every household1 so that  
the execution of the infamous ,fugitive 
,slave ,act1 in every       part of the 
,north1 shall be rendered impracticable 
by a       regenerated public sentiment4
    ,,may ,,it ,,please ,,the ,,court3  
,i have a few words to say why sentence 
should not be pronounced  against me4 ,i
 am found guilty of a violation of the  
,fugitive ,slave  ,law1 and it may      
appear strange to your ,honor that ,i   

have no sense of  guilt4 ,i came1 ,sir1 
from the tyranny of the ,old ,world1    
when but a lad1  and landed upon the    
,american shores1 having left my kindred
 and native  land in pursuit of some    
place where men of toil would not be    
crushed  by the property-holding class4 
,commencing the struggle of life at the 
tender age of twelve years1 a stranger  
in a strange land1 having to  earn my   
bread by the sweat of my brow1 your     
,honor will bear with me4  ,unaccustomed
 as ,i am to appear in ,courts1 much    
less to address them1  ,i have feared   
that ,i might fail in bearing myself on 
this occasion  worthy of the place and  
the position ,i occupy1 and the great   
principles involved in the case before  
you4 ,i say to your ,honor1  therefore1 
if ,i fail in observing the usual forms 
of the place1 it  will be from a want of
 judgment and error of the head1 and not
 of the  heart4 ,therefore ,i do not    
think ,i shall fare worse at the hands  
of  your ,honor1 if ,i state plainly my 

views and feelings on the great         
question of the age--the rights of man4 
,i feel that it is a case that  will be 
referred to long after you and ,i have  
gone to meet the great  ,judge of all   
the earth4    ,it has been argued by the
 prosecution that ,i1 a foreigner1      
protected  by the laws of my adopted    
country1 should be the last to disobey  
those  laws2 but in this ,i find nothing
 that should destroy my sympathy for    
the crushed1 struggling children of toil
 in all lands4    ,surely1 ,i have been 
protected4 ,the fish in the rivers1 the 
quail in  the stubble1 the deer in the  
forest1 have been protected4 ,shall ,i  
join  hands with those who make wicked  
laws1 in crushing out the poor black    
man1 for whom there is no protection but
 in the grave1 where the  wicked cease  
from troubling1 and the weary are at    
rest8    ,it is true1 ,sir--,i am a     
foreigner4 ,i first saw the light among 
the  rugged but free hills of ,scotland2
 a land1 ,sir1 that never was           

conquered1 and where a slave never      
breathed4 ,let a slave set foot on  that
 shore1 and his chains fall off for     
ever1 and he becomes what  ,god made    
him--a man4 ,in this far-off land1 ,i   
heard of your free  institutions1 your  
prairie lands1 your projected canals1   
and your  growing towns4 ,twenty-two    
years ago1 ,i landed in this city4 ,i   
immediately engaged on the public works1
 on the canal then building  that       
connects this city with the great river 
of the ,west4 ,in the  process of time1 
the ,state failed to procure money to   
carry on the  public works4 ,i then     
opened a prairie farm to get bread for  
my family1  and ,i am one of the men who
 have made ,chicago what it is to-day1  
having shipped some of the first grain  
that was exported from this  city4 ,i   
am1 ,sir1 one of the pioneers of        
,illinois1 who have gone  through the   
many hardships of the settlement of a   
new country4 ,i have  spent upon it my  
best days1 the strength of my manhood4  

,i have eleven  children1 who are       
natives of this my adopted country4 ,no 
living man1  ,sir1 has greater interest 
in its welfare2 and it is because ,i am 
opposed to carrying out wicked and      
ungodly laws1 and love the freedom  of  
my country1 that ,i stand before you    
to-day4    ,again1 ,sir1 ,i ought not to
 be sentenced because1 as has been      
argued by  the prosecution1 ,i am an    
,abolitionist4 ,i have no apologies to  
make for  being an ,abolitionist4 ,when 
,i came to this country1 like the mass  
from  beyond the sea1 ,i was a          
,democrat2 there was a charm in the     
name4 ,but1  ,sir1 ,i soon found that ,i
 had to go beyond the name of a party in
 this  country1 in order to know any    
thing of its principles or practice4 ,i 
soon found that however much the great  
parties of my adopted country  differed 
upon banks1 tariffs and land questions1 
in one thing they  agreed1 in trying    
which could stoop the lowest to gain the
 favor of  the most cursed system of    

slavery that ever swayed an iron rod    
over  any nation1 the ,moloch which they
 had set up1 to which they offered as   
human sacrifice millions of the children
 of toil4 ,as a man who had  fled from  
the crushing aristocracy of my native   
land1 how could ,i  support a worse     
aristocracy in this land8 ,i was        
compelled to give my  humble name and   
influence to a party who proposed1 at   
least1 to  embrace in its sympathies all
 classes of men1 from all quarters of   
the  globe4 ,in this choice1 ,i found   
myself in the company of ,clarkson and  
,wilberforce in my native land1 and of  
,washington and ,franklin1 and  many    
such1 in this boasted land of the free2 
and more than all these1  the ,redeemer 
in whom ,i humbly trust for acceptance  
with my ,god1 who  came to heal the     
broken-hearted1 to preach deliverance to
 the  captives1 to set at liberty those 
who were bruised2 yea1 this very        
religion binds me to those in bonds as  
bound with them4 ,tell me1 ,sir1  with  

these views1 can ,i be any thing but an 
,abolitionist8 ,surely1 for  this ,i    
ought not to be sentenced4    ,again1   
,sir1 ,i ought not to be sentenced1     
because the ,fugitive ,slave  ,law1     
under which ,i am torn from my family   
and business by the supple  tools of the
 ,slave ,power1 the slave-breeder and   
the slave-hunter1 is  at variance with  
both the spirit and letter of the       
,constitution4 ,sir1  ,i place myself   
upon the ,constitution1 in the presence 
of a nation who  have the ,declaration  
of ,independence read to them every     
,fourth of  ,july1 and profess to       
believe it4 ,yea1 in the presence of    
civilized  man1 ,i hold up the          
,constitution of my adopted country as  
clear from  the blood of men1 and from a
 tyranny that would make crowned heads  
blush4 ,the parties who prostitute the  
,constitution to the support of  slavery
 are traitors--traitors not only to the 
liberties of millions  of enslaved      
countrymen1 but traitors to the         

,constitution itself which  they have   
sworn to support4 ,a foreigner upon your
 soil1 ,i go not to  the platforms of   
contending parties to find truth4 ,i go1
 ,sir1 to the  ,constitution of my      
country3 the word slave is not to be    
found4 ,i read1  ,we1 the people of the 
,united ,states1 in order to form a more
 perfect  ,union1 establish             
justice1--yes1 ,sir1 establish          
justice--to promote  the general        
welfare1 and to secure the blessings of 
liberty to  ourselves and our posterity1
 do ordain and establish this           
,constitution  for the ,united ,states  
of ,america4 ,these were the men who had
  proclaimed to the world that all men  
were created equal2 that they  were     
endowed by their ,creator with certain  
inalienable rights---life1  liberty1 and
 the pursuit of happiness2 and contended
 even unto death  for seven long years4 
,can it be1 ,sir1 that these great men1 
under  cover of those hallowed words1   
intended to make a government that      

should outrage justice and trample upon 
liberty as no other government  under   
the whole heavens has ever done8 ,this  
dreadful power1 that has  compelled the 
great political parties of the country  
to creep in  the dust for its favor2    
that has debauched to a large extent the
  ,christianity of the nation2 that bids
 a craven priesthood stand with  ,golden
 ,rule in hand1 and defend the robbing  
of mothers of their babes1  and husbands
 of their wives2 that bids courts decree
 injustice2 ,sir1  ,i plant myself upon 
the ,constitution1 and demand justice   
and liberty1  and say to this bloody    
,moloch1 ,away6 ,sir1 the world has     
never  furnished so great a congregation
 of hypocrites as those that formed  the
 ,constitution1 if they designed to make
 it the greatest  slaveholder1          
slave-breeder and slave-catcher on      
earth4 ,he is a great  slaveholder that 
has a thousand slaves2 but if this law  
is a true  exponent of the              
,constitution1 this ,government1        

ordained for justice  and liberty1 holds
 four millions of slaves4    ,no1 ,sir6 
no6 for the honor of the fathers of my  
country1 ,i appeal  from the bloody     
slaveholding statute to the             
liberty-loving  ,constitution4 ,while   
these fathers lived1 ,state after       
,state1 in  carrying out the spirit of  
the ,constitution1 put an end to the    
dreadful system4 ,the great ,washington1
 in his last will and testament1        
carried out the spirit of the           
,constitution4    ,but1 sir1 the law    
under which you may sentence me violates
 both the  letter and the spirit of the 
,constitution4 ,i have a word to say    
upon  the articles of the ,constitution 
which it is claimed the ,fugitive       
,slave ,law is designed to carry out4   
,no person held to service or labor in  
one ,state1 under the       laws        
thereof1 escaping into another1 shall in
 consequence of       any law or        
regulation therein1 be discharged from  
such       service or labor1 but shall  

be delivered up on the claim of         
the party to whom such service or labor 
is due4    ,that is the provision that  
is claimed transforms the ,government   
into a  monster of iniquity4 ,i have    
read1 over and over1 that article1      
interpreted by all laws of language     
known to a plain man4 ,how these  three 
or four lines can transform this        
,government1 ordained to secure         
justice1 into a mean tool to aid the    
plunderers of cradles1 the  destroyers  
of home1 the ravishers of women1 and the
 oppressors of men1  to carry on their  
hellish work--how it can do this thing1 
,i cannot  see4 ,that article binds the 
several ,states separately not to pass a
  certain law1 but where in it do we    
find a ,fugitive ,slave ,law8 ,where do 
you find a ,commissioner8 ,where do you 
find that the ,government is to  hunt up
 and return1 at its own expense1 a slave
 that flees from his  cruel and bloody  
master8 ,where in those lines is the    
authority to  compel me to be a partaker

 in the crimes of the man-stealer8 ,the 
,general ,government is not once        
mentioned2 but the ,states in their     
separate sovereignties are named4 ,but1 
,sir1 this article expressly  provides  
that the party making the claim shall   
have owed him service1  or labor due    
from the party claimed4 ,if ,jim ,gray  
owed service1 or  labor1 or money1 to   
,phillips1 ,i am the last man in the    
world to raise  my voice or hand to     
prevent ,phillips1 or any man1 from     
obtaining his  dues4 ,what ,i would     
grant to the devil himself1 ,i would not
 withhold  even from the                
slaveholder--his due4 ,jim ,gray claims 
that he does not  owe ,phillips a day's 
work or a dollar of money4 ,phillips    
claims that  he owes him every day's    
work that has been deposited in his     
bones and  sinews2 yea1 the toil of his 
body and mind both1 till death shall end
  the period of stipulated toil4 ,here  
is a question for legal  examination and
 judicial discussion4 ,does the man     

,gray owe this man  ,phillips any thing8
 ,the ,constitution is very clear and   
very plain in  pointing out the way this
 question is to be settled4    ,article 
,v4 provides that no person shall be    
deprived of life1 liberty  or property  
without due process of law4 ,that ,jim  
,gray is a person1 is  admitted on all  
hands4 ,phillips admits it2 the         
blood-hounds1 marshals  and attorneys   
that hunt him1 say he is a person--a    
person held to  service4 ,the amount in 
dispute is the liberty and life-long    
toil of a  man just entering into the   
full maturity of manhood4 ,a great      
question  lies between these men4 ,but  
,gray1 standing on soil covered by this 
,constitution1 can be robbed of liberty1
 or the wages of his toil1 only  by due 
process of law4    ,article ,,vii4 says1
 expressly1 in suits at common law1 when
 the value  in controversy shall exceed 
twenty dollars1 the right of trial by   
jury  shall be preserved4 ,here1 sir1 is
 a case involving the question of       

liberty1 and hundreds of dollars of     
money4 ,the law1 ,sir1 under which ,i   
appear before you1 overrides these plain
 provisions1 and commits this  whole    
question to one man1 and offers him a   
bribe to trample right and  liberty     
under foot4 ,i know1 ,sir1 it may be    
said that ,jim ,gray was a  slave1 and  
not entitled to these humane provisions4
 ,had he never worn  the chain of the   
oppressor1 nor felt the lash of the     
bloody  task-master--had he been born in
 ,canada1 or any where else on the      
globe--had he been a citizen of one of  
the ,states of this ,union1 and  never  
been enslaved1 it would have been all   
the same4 ,his liberty  would have been 
stricken down1 and he been given to the 
party claiming  his life-long toil1 and 
your ,commissioner would have pocketed  
the  bribe offered by this law for doing
 such a crime against humanity and  the 
plainest provisions of the              
,constitution4    ,no sir2 in a ,court  
of the ,united ,states1 where the       

,constitution  provides for trial by    
jury1 ,i ought not to be sentenced for  
raising my  hand to rescue a fellow-man 
from a mob that would strip him of his  
liberty and life-long toil without due  
process of law1 without trial  by jury4 
,sir1 this1 law tramples so flagrantly  
upon the spirit and  letter of the      
,constitution1 that ,i ought not to be  
sentenced4    ,before passing from the  
,constitutional objections to this law1 
,i  would call the attention of your    
,honor to the partiality of the law1    
which is so at variance with the designs
 of the ,fathers in organizing  this    
,government4 ,no man can read the       
,constitution--in which the word  slave 
cannot be found2 from which the idea    
that a man could be reduced  to a thing1
 and held as property1 was carefully    
excluded--no man1 ,i  say1 can read that
 ,constitution1 and come to the         
conclusion that  slavery was to be      
fostered1 guaranteed and protected far  
beyond  every thing else in the country4

 ,admit that ,jim ,gray was ,phillips's 
property1 how comes it that that        
particular property is more sacred  than
 any other property8 ,phillips's horse  
escapes from him1 and is  found in a    
distant ,state2 but the ,president of   
the ,united ,states1 and  every         
department of ,government1 are not put  
on the track to find the  horse1 and    
return him to ,phillips's stable1 and   
then pay the whole  bill from the       
,national ,treasury4 ,no1 ,sir4 ,but his
 slave escapes--he  runs away1 and1 for 
some reason1 his property in man is so  
much more  holy and sacred1 that the    
whole ,government is bound to take the  
track  and hunt1 the poor panting       
fugitive down1 and carry him back to his
  chains and bondage at the             
,government's expense4    ,sir1 under a 
,constitution unstained by the word     
slave1 we have a law  magnifying slave  
property above all other property in the
 nation--a  law giving it guarantees    
that no other property could possibly   

obtain4  ,sir1 the partiality of this   
law is so great1 that it stands opposed 
to  a ,constitution that guarantees     
equal justice and protection to all4    
,john ,g4 ,fee is driven out of his     
,kentucky home1 and robbed of the       
fruits of his life-long toil4 ,there is 
no power to secure him his  home1 or    
protect him in his rights of property or
 opinion4 ,but had  ,john ,g4 ,fee only 
owned a slave1 and his slave escaped1   
the ,government1  under this law1 would 
have followed his slave to the utmost   
limit of  the ,united ,states1 and      
returned his slave to him at its own    
expense4  ,your ,honor will pardon me1  
7if ,i need pardon17 but ,i cannot1 for 
the  life of me1 see what there is in   
robbing a man of his inalienable  rights
 and enslaving him for life1 that should
 entitle it to the  special and peculiar
 protection of national law4    ,i am   
aware1 ,sir1 that ,i shall be reminded  
that judges1 marshals1  attorneys1 and  
many citizens1 regard this law as       

,constitutional1 and  stand ready to    
execute it1 though it trample every     
principle of the  ,declaration of       
,independence in the dust4 ,sir1 no law 
can be enacted so  bad but that it will 
find men deluded or base enough to      
execute it4  ,the law of ,egypt that    
consigned the new-born babe to the      
slaughter  found tools for its          
execution4 ,the bloody decree of ,herod 
found men  ready to obey the law of the 
country1 though it commanded the        
slaughter of the innocents of a         
province1 ,sir1 tell me not of men      
ready and willing to execute the law6   
,my ,redeemer1 whose name ,i am  hardly 
worthy to speak1 and yet whose name is  
all my trust1 although  he knew no sin1 
yet he was crucified by law4    ,again1 
,sir1 it will be said that some whom the
 world calls ,doctors of  ,divinity and 
,doctors of ,law have undertaken to     
prove that slavery was  guaranteed by   
the ,constitution4 ,if that be so1 in   
the name of the ,most  ,high ,god1 tear 

out the red strip of blood2 it was not  
written by the  ,angel ,gabriel1 nor    
nailed to the throne of the ,almighty4  
,if slavery is  in it1 it is a covenant 
with death1 and an agreement with hell4 
,but1 ,sir1 ,i have one consideration   
more that ,i will urge why sentence     
ought not to be pronounced against me4  
,this law1 which ,i think ,i have       
proved outrageous to the rights of man1 
is so obviously at variance  with the   
law of that ,god who commands me to love
 ,him with all my soul1  mind1 might and
 strength1 and my neighbor as myself1   
and the ,redeemer  who took upon him my 
nature and the nature of poor ,jim ,gray
 has been  so particular in telling me  
who my neighbor is1 that the path of    
duty  is plain to me4 ,this law so      
plainly tramples upon the divine law1   
that  it cannot be binding upon any     
human being under any circumstances to  
obey it4 ,the law that bids me do to    
other men as ,i would have other  men do
 to me1 is too plain1 too simple to be  

misunderstood4 ,but1 ,sir1  ,i am not   
now left to the general law of love in  
searching for my duty  in this          
particular case4 ,permit me to refer    
your ,honor to the oldest  law-book in  
existence4 ,though it may not be in use 
in this ,court1 yet  ,i think it better 
authority than ,blackstone or any       
law-book that ever  was written4 ,it is 
the book of books4 ,in that book1 ,i    
find some  special enactments given to  
the ,hebrew commonwealth1 that leave me 
in  no doubt as to my duty in reference 
to this law4 ,he that stealeth a  man   
and selleth him1 or if he be found in   
his hands1 he shall surely  be put to   
death4 ,again3 ,thou shalt not deliver  
unto his master the  servant that has   
escaped from his master unto thee2 he   
shall dwell  with thee1 even among you1 
in that place he shall choose in one of 
thy  gates where it liketh him best2    
thou shalt not oppress him4 ,these      
plain statutes1 with many more that ,i  
might give1 leave me in no doubt  as to 

the mind of the unchanging ,jehovah1 in 
reference to man-stealing  and          
slave-hunting4 ,sir1 the whole system of
 slavery originated in  man-stealing1   
and is perpetuated by fraud and violence
 and plunder4  ,others may have their   
doubts as to their duty under this law2 
,i1 ,sir1  have none4 ,this law is just 
as binding on me as was the law of      
,egypt  to slaughter ,hebrew children2  
just as binding as the law that said1   
,worship the golden image1 worship not  
,god2 just as binding as the law        
forbidding ,christ and his ,apostles to 
preach the ,gospel4 ,send me a law      
bidding me rob or murder my neighbor1 ,i
 must decline to obey it4 ,i can        
suffer1 but ,i must not do wrong4 ,send 
me a law bidding me join hands  in      
robbing my fellow-men of their freedom1 
,i cannot do so great a  wrong4 ,yea1   
send me a law bidding me stop my ears to
 the cry of the  poor1 ,i can suffer the
 loss of all these hands have earned1 ,i
 can  suffer bonds and                  

imprisonment--yes1 ,god helping me1 ,i  
can give up my  life--but ,i cannot     
knowingly trample upon the law of my    
,god1 nor upon  the bleeding1 prostrate 
form of my fellow-man4 ,i go not to     
,missouri to  relieve oppressed         
humanity1 for my duty has called me     
nearer home2 but  when ,he that directs 
the steps of man conducts a poor1       
oppressed1  panting fugitive to my door1
 and there ,i hear his bitter cry1 ,i   
dare  not close my ear against it1 lest 
in my extremity ,i cry for mercy1 and   
shall not be heard4 ,sir1 this law so   
flagrantly outrages the divine  law1    
that ,i ought not to be sentenced under 
it4    ,a single remark1 and ,i have    
done4 ,from the testimony1 7part of     
which  is false17 and from your         
rendering and interpretation of the law1
 the  jury have found me guilty2 yes1   
guilty of carrying out the great        
principles of the ,declaration of       
,independence2 yes1 guilty of carrying  
out the still greater principles of the 

,son of ,god4 ,great ,god6 can  these   
things be8 ,can it be possible8 ,what   
country is this8 ,can it be  that ,i    
live in a land boasting of freedom1 of  
morality1 of  ,christianity8 ,how long1 
,o1 how long shall the people bow down  
and  worship this great image set up in 
this nation8 ,yes1 the jury say  guilty1
 but recommend me to the mercy of the   
,court4 ,mercy1 ,sir1 is  kindness to   
the guilty4 ,i am guilty of no crime1 ,i
 therefore ask for  no mercy4 ,no1 ,sir1
 ,i ask for no mercy2 ,i ask for        
justice4 ,mercy is  what ,i ask of my   
,god4 ,justice in the ,courts of my     
adopted country is  all ,i ask4 ,it is  
the inhuman and infamous law that is    
wrong1 not me4    ,my feelings are at my
 home4 ,my wife and my children are dear
 to my  heart4 ,but1 ,sir1 ,i have      
counted the cost4 ,i am ready to die1 if
 need  be1 for the oppressed of my race4
 ,but slavery must die2 and when my     
country shall have passed through the   
terrible conflict which the  destruction

 of slavery must cost1 and when the     
history of the great  struggle shall be 
candidly written1 the rescuers of ,jim  
,gray will be  considered as having done
 honor to ,god1 to humanity1 and to     
themselves4    ,i am told there is no   
appeal from this ,court2 yet ,i do      
appeal to the  ,court of ,high ,heaven1 
when ,judge ,drummond and ,judge ,caton1
 the rescuer  and the rescued1 shall all
 have to stand at the judgment-seat of  
the  ,most ,high4    ,i have1 ,sir1     
endeavored to obey the ,divine law and  
all the laws of my  country that do not 
conflict with the laws of my ,god4 ,my  
humble wish  is1 that it may then appear
 that ,i have done my duty4 ,all ,i wish
 to be  written on my tomb-stone is1 ,he
 feared ,god and loved his fellow-men4