Massachusetts State House

A gilded dome rises above the red-brick central block, and a white portico at the entrance brings the facade into strict symmetry. Inside, the two chambers of the Massachusetts General Court and the governor's office work; from here the state conducts its public affairs. Charles Bulfinch built the central block, but its familiar present appearance did not take shape at once: at first the facade was white, the copper dome had not yet been gilded, and the red brick was exposed later.

Before us is the Massachusetts State House: the state senate and house of representatives meet here, and the governor's office is here as well. In eighteen forty-two, the case of George Latimer brought people here—a man whom a Boston court ordered returned to slavery.

George and his pregnant wife Rebecca fled Virginia because they did not want to raise their child in bondage. They reached Boston, but an acquaintance recognized George on the street. James Gray, George's enslaver, came after him, seeking his return. To make the arrest easier, Gray accused the fugitive of stealing money and goods from his shop.

Slavery had already been abolished in Massachusetts by then, but the federal law of seventeen ninety-three allowed escaped enslaved people to be pursued and returned to their former owners. The court sided with Gray. George told his lawyer that he would rather die, and that if he were taken back to Norfolk, Gray might kill him.

George was held in the city jail. More than three hundred Black Bostonians tried to free him, and a crowd kept gathering outside the building. The jailers feared another assault and declared that if they released Latimer to testify, they would not take him back. Gray understood that he could not keep the prisoner alone. At first he demanded one thousand five hundred dollars for George's freedom, then agreed to four hundred. The Reverend Nathaniel Colver paid the sum and had Latimer officially freed. Gray left the city, and Rebecca's enslaver gave up pursuing her.

After his own release, Latimer traveled around Massachusetts and spoke at meetings. He wanted the next fugitive not to depend on a ransom or on a crowd's willingness to go to the jail. Abolitionists gathered sixty-four thousand five hundred twenty-six signatures for a petition to the Massachusetts General Court.

In this Massachusetts State House, both chambers passed the Massachusetts Personal Liberty Law. On March twenty-fourth, eighteen forty-three, Governor Marcus Morton approved it. The law prohibited Massachusetts officials from helping detain people who had escaped slavery, and jails and other public buildings of the state, counties, and cities could no longer be used to hold them. Other Northern states later passed similar laws. This one is still called the Massachusetts Personal Liberty Law.

The central block before us is the very building by Charles Bulfinch where the petition was considered. Only on the day the law was passed was its facade painted white, while the dome remained copper: the red brick was exposed and the gold applied later.