Correcting the Unrightable Wrong

My new novel has a segment of a chapter where a deputy is returning a fugitive slave, written with a humorous approach.

Toby Walker – The Cowboy from Illinois occurs in Kansas during the ‘Bloody Kansas’ period just before the Civil War. In 1820, Missouri was admitted as a slave state, and at the same time, Congress separated a piece of Massachusetts to form Maine, a non-slavery state. The count of states on each side of the slavery matter remained equal. The congressional action that made this happen was called the Missouri Compromise. It also stipulated that parts of the Louisiana Purchase north of the latitude 36 degrees and 30 minutes would prohibit slavery, excluding the new state of Missouri. Below that line of demarcation, slavery was optional but permitted.

The Missouri Compromise was a stop-gap measure as slavery was an unsettled matter. In 1854, Senator Stephen Douglas of Illinois spearheaded the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which mandated that the settlers in each new territory decide by voting which side of the issue would be law in that state. The term was popular sovereignty.

In 1857, the new Territory of Kansas was formed. To be eligible to vote on the new territorial representatives, one only had to be in Kansas. On election day, a significant number of Missouri residents crossed over the state line to vote, resulting in a pro-slavery government being elected. At the same time, the population in the territory was predominately anti-slavery. 

These issues evolved over the era, and the controversy escalated. Inconsistencies existed as the legislature addressed situations and were undecided on the overall problem of slavery; for example, new laws were enacted that promoted the return of slaves to their owners.

In The Cowboy from Illinois, the Territory of Nebraska decides to return a fugitive slave. The Deputy just happens to meet Toby.

The conversation between Toby and the deputy is compelling. The young deputy is ill-prepared to argue as he lacks direction or a plan for his assignment.

My long-time friend and literature professor read an early version and commented. “Your deputy is the dumbest person in all of literature.” Rewriting, I made the deputy younger. There are no plausible answers to the questions posed by Toby and the wagon master, so the deputy remains dense. 

It is apparent in the story that the act of returning a slave does not correct the situation. Thus, the politicians and police chief who directed the deputy did not, indeed, could not think through this process. It was unbounded in potential cost. There was no specific target or destination for the deputy. Plus, the territory did not have the funds to pay the deputy if it took an extended time to accomplish the task. There was no way to be sure the slave was delivered to the rightful owner. (‘Rightful owner’ is a conundrum.)

Slaves were returned to their owners; however, this situation is seldom addressed. Thus, we do not know how prevalent the act of returning slaves was. It arises in the story, and the coherent dialogue is worthy of a close read.

Thus, even though the deputy responded with shallow answers, the questions are interesting to contemplate. The questions arise straightforwardly today but likely were not asked in the 1850s. Consciousness about slavery was low prior to the 1860s when the serfs were fried in Russia, and in 1863, enslaved people were emancipated in the USA. It was not a simultaneous awakening, as trafficking was outlawed in Ghana in 1808. The human understanding of slavery and the attitude toward that practice took a huge step forward in this era.