author

John Hossack

1806–1891

Best remembered for his defiant stand against the Fugitive Slave Law, this Scottish-born American became a symbol of practical courage in the antislavery movement. His surviving speech reads as both a personal defense and a forceful moral argument against slavery.

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, in 1806, John Hossack later settled in Illinois and became known as an abolitionist whose home served as a stop on the Underground Railroad. He drew national attention in 1860 after being prosecuted for helping Jim Gray, a freedom seeker, evade capture.

Hossack is also remembered as the author of a published courtroom speech delivered after his conviction under the Fugitive Slave Law. In that speech, he defended his actions on moral grounds, which is why his work still appears in public-domain collections and historical archives.

He died in 1891. Although he is not chiefly known as a literary figure, his surviving writing offers a direct, vivid window into antislavery resistance in the United States before the Civil War.