It was on this day in 1855 that Theodore Parker, Unitarian Transcendentalist minister was put on trial for inciting a riot. A well known abolitionist, and a member of the Secret Six, who fostered any number of fugitives and in response to threats from pro-slavery northerners was known to keep a pistol in his pulpit. He was principal among those who gathered to prevent the arrest and return to slavery of Ellen and William Craft. They succeeded, giving the Crafts time to flee abroad. Interestingly his defense was one of necessity, asserting justification due to the horror of slavery, even in the face of the notorious Fugitive Slave Law.
The judge found a technicality to throw the case out of his court.
The great reckoning was still some years away.
But this trial was one more step on the way…
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