NEITHER NORTHERN NOR SOUTHERN: THE POLITICS OF SLAVERY AND FREEDOM IN PHILADELPHIA, 1820-1847 A Dissertation Submitted to the Temple University Graduate Board In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY by Elliott Drago May, 2017 Examining Committee Members: Andrew Isenberg, Chair, Temple University, History Harvey Neptune, Temple University, History Jessica Roney, Temple University, History Jonathan Wells, University of Michigan, History Judith Giesberg, Villanova University, History Randall Miller, External Member, Saint Joseph’s University, History © Copyright 2017 by Elliott Drago All Rights Reserved ii ABSTRACT This dissertation examines the conflict over slavery and freedom in Philadelphia from 1820 to 1847. As the northernmost southern city in a state that bordered three slave states, Philadelphia maintained a long tradition of abolitionism and fugitive slave activity. Conflicts that arose over fugitive slaves and the kidnapping of free African-Americans forced Philadelphians to confront the politics of slavery. This dissertation argues that until 1847, Pennsylvania was in effect a slave state. The work of proslavery groups, namely slave masters, their agents, white and black kidnappers, and local, state, and national political supporters, undermined the ostensible successes of state laws designed to protect the freedom of African-Americans in Pennsylvania. Commonly referred to as “liberty laws,” this legislation exposed the inherent difficulty in determining the free or enslaved status of not only fugitive slaves but also African-American kidnapping victims. By studying the specific fugitive or kidnapping cases that inspired these liberty laws, one finds that time and again African-Americans and their allies forced white politicians to grapple with the reality that Pennsylvania was not a safe-haven for African-Americans, regardless of their condition of bondage or freedom. Furthermore, these cases often precipitated into desperate rescues and bloody riots on the streets of Philadelphia; these civil wars in miniature reflected the negotiated and compromised realities of living while black in the city. Ordinary African-Americans living in Philadelphia bore the burden of comity, or friendly relations between states, by practicing what I term “street diplomacy”: the up-close and personal struggles over freedom and slavery that had local, state, and national ramifications. In a larger sense, street diplomacy in Philadelphia magnified the stakes of national comity, i.e. the Union, by showcasing how dividing states by their iii condition of bondage remained impossible due to permeable geographic borders that fostered perpetual fugitive slave and kidnapping crises. Thus, this dissertation argues that African-Americans and their allies’ struggles with slave-masters, slave-catchers, kidnappers and proslavery politicians disrupted the best efforts of white politicians to maintain a compromised and compromising Union. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Many of my professors and students have asked me why I wanted to become a historian. My simple answer: I like to read. Thus, my parents will make multiple appearances in this section: thank you Mom and Dad for teaching me how to read. Grade school teachers Mrs. Abouyen and Mrs. Prail tolerated my classroom antics by giving books to calm me down; thank you, wherever you are right now. Mike Solon served as a role model for the teacher that I hoped to become and Thomas Stewart encouraged me to question the tired paeans of the past. In the summer of 2002 I received a letter from St. Joseph’s University that informed me that I would participate in a seminar class called “History and Memory” during the first semester of my freshman year. My advisor Jeff Hyson presided over this class, and not a day goes by when I do not think of how much I appreciated his lighthearted yet rigorous approach to history, memory, and learning. I also had the great fortune of “work-studying” with Katie Sibley; her positive attitude brought light into every lunchtime conversation. I would also like to thank Ian Petrie, Thomas Marzik, Allison Lewin, and Richard Warren for their wisdom and patience. Randall Miller’s unflinching support of my academic career deserves a paragraph to itself. From the first time I stepped into his office, I witnessed how history and historians could be “cool” and even better, down-to-earth. I appreciate his insights and advice and for guiding me toward this final destination called the doctorate. Without the help of Dr. Miller I would never have had the opportunity to intern and work with the great people at the National Archives and Records Administration. v Thank you V. Chapman-Smith, Jefferson Moak, Patrick Connelly, and Matt DiBiase for making those two summers the stuff of legend. In an attempt to round-out my goal of earning degrees from every school in the Big Five, a sports reference I still do not understand, I enrolled in a master’s program at Villanova University in 2007. Maghan Keita always challenged me to both “read how I was taught to read” and then scrap however I interpreted what I just read and instead, “read against the grain.” Furthermore, Dr. Keita imparted a bit of pedagogical wisdom: he would often begin class by casually tossing that week’s text on the table and query us, “what do you want to do with it?” Karen Kauffman deserves thanks for being the first person to suggest that I pursue a doctoral degree in history. While I avoided the colonial era in this project, her passion for that era (and the Phillies) motivated me to take more than just a brief glance at the founding generation. I would also like to thank Paul Steege and Paul Rosier, both of whom taught me with great vigor and at times, vim. Judith Giesberg’s support provided the launching pad for my doctoral career. I was fortunate to take two courses with her; even more fortunate that she told me that I should really look closer at what I write. Unnecessary grammatical errors aside, Dr. Giesberg’s compassionate approach to teaching and learning has enabled me to round-out my personality as a historian, as she shows just how cool studying history can be for a grad student. The professors at Temple University taught me that I did not know much about history, let alone historiography. David Waldstreicher’s penetrating analysis of my seminar papers served as a wake-up call in that they reminded me that there are always one-hundred different ways to read a text. I owe a great debt to Susan Klepp: my vi dissertation began in her class through the case study of the ‘notorious’ slave-catcher, George Alberti. Thank you, Dr. Klepp, for encouraging me to pry the lid off of Alberti’s casket. Thanks to Bryant Simon, whose enthusiasm for the 20th century bled into my enthusiasm for the 19th century; his help inside and outside of class as well as his welcoming attitude always seemed to catch me at the right time. I would also like to thank Elizabeth Varon, David Watt, Beth Bailey, Petra Goedde, David Watt, and Arthur Schmidt for devoting their help and time. Portions of my dissertation appeared previously in conference paper form at the 2012 Barnes Conference and SHEAR 2014. Thank you to Andrew Diemer, Chris Bouton, Kate Masur, and Scott Hancock for their incisive comments. SHEAR also ranks among the friendliest academic conferences, and thus I must thank Larry Tise, Stanley Harrold, Paul Finkelman, and Robert Forbes for offering me their advice on my dissertation. I must thank Andrew Isenberg for challenging me not only as a historian but also as a writer. His one-minute rounds set the standard for active seminar discussions; his cogent remarks on my two-page papers helped me hone many-an historiographical argument. I had the distinct pleasure of studying under and TA-ing for Harvey Neptune. Besides forcing me to reconceptualize everything that I read while studying for comps, he taught me that history is “what happened” and “what is said to have happened.” I thank him for my perpetual self-reflexivity. It takes a village to raise a dissertation, and I am lucky to have stocked mine with plenty of friends and supporters, including Ed Quinn, Chad and Haley Cummings, Barry vii and Tiffany Johnson, Brad Pearson, Tommy Richards, Carly Goodman, Dylan Gottlieb, Matt Nixon, Nancy Morgan, Jon Crider, Larry Kessler, Bo Schambelan, Peter Canale, Matt McGuire, Noam Chomsky, The Beatles, Harry Nilsson, Josh and Brooke Mattingly, Avi Snyder, Yaasiyn Muhammad, Ed Balbier, Laura Jacklin, Matt Pinsker, and Tom Potterfield. I would be remiss if I did not thank the staff, administration, and especially the students of Central High School. 277: Be kids - Breathe - Become who you are. To my historiographical father, Jon Wells: thank you for all of your time, patience, and encouragement. Your kind words and supportive actions rescued me from the doldrums of grad school, while your continued guidance and dictum to “call anytime” gave me the confidence to carry on and finish this project. Heather Ann-Thompson deserves my thanks, too, for showing me how a historian’s passion and dogged determination benefits both the living and the dead. Last but certainly not least, I would like to thank my family. Thank you to my grandparents, Bud, Betty, Jane, Len, and Regina. Thank you to my parents, Bud, Lynn, Alan, and Angela. Thank you to my aunts and uncles, especially Ellie, David, John, Lorraine, Joseph, Diane, Tim, Dawne, and Brooke and of course, all of my cousins. Many thanks to my brothers, true all-stars who impress me every day: Brian, Keith, and Mike. Thank you to my wonderful in-laws, the Morales and Rivera families. In sum, thank you all for asking me about the dissertation, listening patiently while I narrated these tales of terror, and loving me throughout this long process.