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they were encircled by approximately eighty African Americans and whites who, on the prior advice of abolitionist leaders, demanded that the slave owner turn back. When the slave owner continued his effort (which had been made legal by the Fugitive Slave Acts of 1793 and 1850), shots were fired and a melee ensued in which the slave owner and one of his sons died. The grand jury indictments that followed were for treason, rather than murder, so that the charges could be (and were) brought against not only those who fired the fatal shots but also everyone else in the gathering and against those who had previously advised them. The antislavery press, citing Rush’s earlier remarks, was not kind to the candidate. Boston’s The Liberator wrote:

Richard Rush mourns over the fact that his state is the only one in which treason has repeatedly been attempted against the United States.… Some [of those indicted] were merely present, looking on but taking no part in the affair. Some simply gave information in advance to the fugitives attempted to be arrested.… All these are indicted for treason, for “levying war”—for treason, according to the United States Constitution, “shall consist only in levying war” or adhering to the enemies of the United States, giving them aid or comfort.

The magazine National Era stated that “Mr. Rush is evidently not the man for the hour. He is timid, fearful, trembling. He does not counsel support of the Fugitive Slave Law because it is proper, just, and right; but [because] the ‘eyes of the South’ are upon Pennsylvania.” In a separate article, the magazine even used Rush’s success as ambassador to France to castigate him in the political arena: “We presume this humane ex-minister studied the philosophy of the guillotine when in Paris.… As cutting off peoples’ heads has proven so efficacious in promoting a holy reverence for law and order in France, the venerable gentleman seems to be under the impression that strangling people must be equally beneficial in Pennsylvania.”

Ultimately, none of those tried for treason at Christiana was convicted. In fact, no one was convicted of anything. When the Democrats convened in 1852 to select a presidential nominee, the ballot did not include Richard Rush.

Rush lived out the remainder of his life at his home in Philadelphia and his estate outside the city. Upon his death in 1859, obituaries appeared nationwide. Diplomatically, they made no mention of slavery or treason.

ILLINOIS, WISCONSIN

NATHANIEL POPE

Illinois’s Most Boring Border

It is as plain as daylight that Wisconsin is about to be most flagrantly robbed of a large share of her rightful domain.… A fine strip of territory has been sacrificed.… Wisconsin is … having her pockets picked!

—WISCONSIN HERALD, JANUARY 9, 1847

Nathaniel Pope is responsible for the location of Illinois’ most boring border, its straight-line northern boundary with Wisconsin. Had it not been relocated, the Land of Lincoln might have been the Land of Slavery. And what became the Civil War may well have had a different outcome. But try telling that to Wisconsin, which lost over 9,000 square miles in the deal.

Pope came to Illinois in February 1809, only days after Congress had created the territory. Born and raised in Kentucky, he was a twenty-two-year-old attorney when, in 1806, he began his career in the recently acquired Louisiana Territory, basing himself in the previously French town of Ste. Genevieve in present-day Missouri. The reason he then moved to Illinois, just as it was created, was that President James Madison had appointed him secretary of the new Illinois Territory, its number two position. The territorial secretary had the authority to act as governor should the appointed governor be absent. Pope received this appointment through the efforts of his brother, Senator John Pope of Kentucky.1 Nepotism often results in the appointment of incompetents, but not this time. Nathaniel Pope was an able attorney and savvy politician. The northern border of Illinois proves it.

Nathaniel Pope (1784-1850) (photo