Abolitionist

In May 1856, a pro-slavery group attacked Lawrence, burning buildings and destroying the printing presses of an abolitionist newspaper. In retaliation, John Brown and his allies murdered five pro-slavery men. The wider conflict became known as Bleeding Kansas.

In 1772, Lord Mansfield's ruling in the Somerset case prevented an enslaved man from being forcibly removed from England to be sold abroad. It challenged the power claimed by enslavers, but it did not abolish slavery throughout the British Empire. Its publicity encouraged abolitionists and alarmed those whose businesses depended on slavery.