The biography is set primarily in Boston and Virginia; Hamilton makes use of a flashback technique to alternate between courthouse scenes of Burns's 1854 trial and scenes of his earlier life on the plantation. Burns's story is inseparable from its historical setting. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was generally unpopular among Northerners; Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, written largely in response to the act, had already caused an increase in abolitionist ranks. The question of states' rights also factored into Bostonians' opposition to the capture and imprisonment of alleged fugitive slaves in Massachusetts. When Burns's attempt to gain freedom failed, he quickly became a cause celebre.
The events of Burns's earlier.....
This is a free excerpt of 113 words. This section contains 222 words. This
Short Guide contains 3,217 words (approx. 11 pages at 300
words per page).
Read the rest of this Short Guide with our Anthony Burns Access Pass.
