8. Massachusetts, House, Joint Special Committee, Report, House no. 167 (N.p., [1856]). (69 p.)


Three reports addressing the constitutionality of the state’s Personal Liberty Law. The committee offered three findings because its members could not reach a consensus. Some members thought decided that the law was unconstitutional and should be repealed. Other members decided that there were some constitutional problems with the law but that these problems could be corrected with revisions. Finally, a subset of members opined that the law should be referred to the state’s Supreme Court for an opinion. (The Personal Liberty Law was passed in 1855 to circumvent the federal Fugitive Slave Law.)