Oberlin–Wellington Rescue

The Oberlin–Wellington Rescue of 1858 in was a key event in the history of abolitionism in the United States. A cause célèbre and widely publicized, thanks in part to the new telegraph, it is one of the series of events leading up to Civil War.

John Price, an escaped slave, was arrested in Oberlin, Ohio, under the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. To avoid conflict with locals, whose abolitionism was well known, the U.S. marshal and his party took him to the first train stop out of Oberlin heading south: Wellington. Rescuers from Oberlin followed them to Wellington, took Price by force from the marshal and escorted him back to Oberlin, from where he headed via the Underground Railroad to freedom in Canada.

Thirty-seven rescuers were indicted, but as a result of state and federal negotiations, only two were tried in federal court. The case received national attention, and defendants argued eloquently against the law. When rescue allies went to the 1859 Ohio Republican convention, they added a repeal of the Fugitive Slave Law to the party platform. The rescue and continued activism of its participants kept the issue of slavery as part of the national discussion.