The cases of Henry Garnett and Moses Honner bookend the 1850s, a decade of intensifying political crisis that was deeply connected to the institution of slavery. In both court actions, which were tried in the Third Circuit Court, Eastern District, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the defendants were charged with being "fugitives from labor." Despite similarities in the cases, the outcomes were completely opposite. This lesson compares the Garnett and Honner cases pointing to the increasingly volatile political crisis of the 1850s arising over the issue of slavery and necessitating the enactment of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The lesson correlates to the National History Standards and to the National Standards for Civics and Government. It furnishes three primary source documents connected to the two cases. The lesson provides historical background and lists four resources. It offers instructions for implementing six diverse teaching activities, compare and contrast the cases, research on the cases, essay writing, and an extension activity. (Contains a written document analysis worksheet.) (BT)