Jerry, a fugitive slave, originally from Missouri who escaped to Syracuse, New York in search for freedom. The north and south acquired different opinions regarding slavery over time. The north abolished slavery, but the south made slavery an integral part of their culture and economy. This lead to sectional tension. Although slavery was abolished Syracuse, racism and prejudice was not. For example, black men were more like to be arrested for petty crimes than their white counterparts. Jerry adamantly refused to be sent to Missouri to work as a slave again for William Henry. Jerry realized his only true hope of freedom from the Missouri Compromise was to flee.
Jerry escaped from Missouri in 1843 and never stopped running to freedom. Although Jerry was now in free territory, slave owners had a constitutional right to capture their slaves in this domain; northerners refused to participate in the re-enslavement of former slaves. New York was the first state to pass “An Act to…show more content… He was an active abolitionist who was determined to come up with a plan that would benefit Jerry. The Fugitive Slave Convention, held in 1850 in Cazenovia, New York was organized by abolitionist and fugitive slaves was a previous effort to bring awareness to the issue that fugitive slaves faced. Jerry was arrested after this convention.
Still, many individuals were in upheaval about Jerry’s situation and decided to protest during Jerry’s hearing. Afterwards, Peter Hollinbeck and William Gray rescued Jerry from his squalor conditions in the jail. This act of breaking the law was to send a message to individuals in support of slavery. Jerry was initially taken to the home of Lucy Watson in order to be tended to. Jerry was now considered homeless and sought refuge in the homes of others until he travelled through the Underground Railroad to settle in Kingston, Canada. Jerry lived the life as a carpenter like he did in
