author

John Hossack

1806–1891

Best known for his bold stand against the Fugitive Slave Law, this Scottish-American abolitionist turned personal conviction into public action. His published speech and trial record offer a vivid window into the moral battles that shaped the years before the Civil War.

1 Audiobook

Speech of John Hossack, Convicted of a Violation of the Fugitive Slave Law Before Judge Drummond, Of The United States District Court, Chicago, Ill.

Speech of John Hossack, Convicted of a Violation of the Fugitive Slave Law Before Judge Drummond, Of The United States District Court, Chicago, Ill.

by John Hossack

About the author

Born in Elgin, Scotland, on December 6, 1806, he later settled in Ottawa, Illinois, where he became a farmer and a committed opponent of slavery. His home became known as a stop on the Underground Railroad, reflecting the practical risks he was willing to take for his beliefs.

Hossack became widely known in 1860 after he was tried and convicted under the Fugitive Slave Law for helping Jim Gray, an enslaved man seeking freedom, avoid capture. That case made him a public example at a time when the conflict over slavery was intensifying across the United States.

He is also remembered through his printed Speech of John Hossack, Convicted of a Violation of the Fugitive Slave Law and other trial-related publications, which preserve his words and the cause he stood for. He died on November 8, 1891.