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"The Boston Mob" article to the Mayor in Gazette and Courier newspaper

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Three days after fugitive slave Shadrach's arrest and subsequent rescue by a mob, the board of aldermen ordered that the mayor of Boston direct the city marshal to assist agents of the state and federal government in the execution of their duty when obstructed by a mob. The Boston authorities had not come to the aid of the federal marshals when a mob broke into the courtroom and rescued Shadrach. These officers felt that the 1843 Massachusetts law that prevented "all officers of the commonwealth from engaging . . . in the arrest, detention, or imprisonment of a fugitive slave" governed their actions. The Boston officers probably did not agree with the Fugitive Slave Law and did not want to come to the aid of the federal marshals in any case. The letter from Daniel Webster on behalf of President Fillmore to the mayor of Boston, includes the sentiment that the people of Boston must understand that a law should be regarded as a law, whether they agree with it or not.

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