- Created by
- United States Congress, American, founded 1789
- Printed by
- Ritchie, Thomas, American, 1778 - 1854
- Date
- 1850
- Medium
- ink on paper
- Dimensions
- H x W: 9 3/4 x 7 11/16 in. (24.8 x 19.5 cm)
- Description
- Proof copy of the first printing of The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 consisting of a single sheet of U.S. Government-issued blue stock paper folded quarto to form four pages and printed in black ink. At top a handwritten inscription reads [U.S. Congress. / Fugitive Slaves Act.] The printed text begins [AN ACT / TO AMEND, AND SUPPLEMENTARY TO, THE ACT ENTITLED "AN ACT RESPECTING FUGITIVES FROM JUSTICE / AND PERSONS ESCAPING FROM THE SERVICE OF THEIR MASTERS," APPROVED FEBRUARY TWELFTH, ONE / THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED AND NINETY-THREE.].
- In the body, there are two annotations handwritten in black ink -correcting "B it enacted" to "Be it enacted," and "courts of United States" to "courts of the United States."
- Place depicted
- United States, North and Central America
- Type
- laws
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Object number
- 2009.14.4
- Restrictions & Rights
- No Known Copyright Restrictions
- Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.