If any free negro or mulatto enters the State of Mississippi, for any cause however urgent, any white citizen may cause him to be punished by the Sheriff with thirty-nine lashes, and if he does not immediately thereafter leave the State, he is SOLD AS A SLAVE.
Tappan illustrates the harsh penalties faced by free individuals in Mississippi, emphasizing the brutality of the laws.
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Do you pant for liberty and equality, more substantial than such as is now found only in your obliterated and tattered bills of right?
By abolishing slavery you will become the architects of your own fortune, and of your country's greatness.
In the place of your present contempt, and degradation, and misery, honor, and wealth, and happiness court your acceptance.
The institution which oppresses you is suffering from the decrepitude of age, and is the scorn and loathing of the world.