Nebraska

Connections

• Offered $5,000 for the capture (or death) of Cassidy in 1853, the poster (the best document we currently have about Cassidy) describes Cassidy's appearance, age, crimes, known companions, and describes her as "Armed and extremely dangerous"

Context

There is a slight temporal anomaly here. The Nebraska poster is dated 1853, but the Nebraska Territory didn't become officially organized and incorporated until 1854 with the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Of course, that's not to say that the land, towns, and people didn't exist beforehand. In 1854, however, it became official. The territory at the time covered parts of present-day Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, the Dakotas, and of course Nebraska.

The territory wasn't officially a "slave state," but there was the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. This is why Cassidy was in trouble for harboring a fugitive slave (also, those other charges like dereliction of duty, aiding a criminal, and attempted murder were serious enough for a wanted poster anyway). There was already the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 which ordered that runaway slaves must be returned to their owners. The 1850 act strengthened this law by enforcing a fine of about $1,000 at the time on law officials who didn't arrest a runaway slave, and that would include Cassidy. Maybe this fine was included in the $5,000 reward, which would mean that her other alleged crimes were worth $4,000?