Fugitive Slave Act

Fugitive Slave Act

The Fugitive Slave Act was enacted inward 1850 every bit a business office of a larger compromise orchestrated past times Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky inward an effort to field the growing rift betwixt the North too South over the expansion of slavery into the Western territories.

The law, which was basically a revision of the 1793 Fugitive Slave Law, was seen every bit a federal conspiracy past times both northerners too southerners too made the prospect of liberty for blacks, northward too south, slave too free, look fifty-fifty farther out of reach.

The Fugitive Slave Law of 1793 was passed inward a similar climate of sectional differences next the American Revolution (1775 - 1783) too the emergence of the U.S.A. every bit a nation. In 1793, slavery had been abolished or was beingness abolished inward viii of the northern states spell it remained legal inward 7 southern states.


The U.S.A. Congress passed the constabulary inward 1793 inward lodge to let slave catchers to render fugitive slaves inward the costless states dorsum to their owners inward the South. The constabulary simply required oral testimony past times the slave catcher that the individual he had constitute was indeed a slave. The individual hence captured had no guarantee to the correct of trial too whatever individual constitute guilty of harboring the defendant fugitive would direct keep to pay a fine of $500.

The constabulary express the rights of blacks inward the North whether a fugitive or born free, because it made it possible for slave catchers to abduct whatever dark individual from the North too simply claim that he or she was a runaway slave. Even if an abducted dark could evidence that he or she had been born costless or had been laid free, their express rights to a trial meant that such evidence may non last permitted inward court.

Recognizing the disparity betwixt the constitutional rights given to U.S. citizens too the restrictions placed on blacks inward the North due to the 1793 laws, many northerners fought to exceed nation laws that would render its dark citizens amongst some effective agency of getting around the federal law.

Between the passage of the get-go Fugitive Slave Law of 1793 too the minute of 1850, several northern states enacted a serial of personal liberty laws that would let captured blacks defendant of beingness fugitives the correct to trial past times jury too would postulate written documentation of their ownership to last presented past times their captors.

Many such laws likewise provided for the prosecution of kidnappers who abducted costless blacks inward the North too forbade the purpose of nation facilities inward assisting amongst such endeavors. Such concessions given to blacks inward the North angered southern slave owners, who claimed that the northern states were conspiring against them too denying them of their holding too prompted the South to clamor for to a greater extent than rigorous federal enforcement of the 1793 law.

The hollo for for an terminate to sectional disagreements inward both the Whig too Democratic Parties culminated inward Clay’s Compromise of 1850. This compromise consisted of 5 separate bills:

1. The admission of California every bit a costless state.
2. Moving the Texas edge east, out of New United Mexican States territory.
3. The arrangement of the Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, too Utah territories amongst a provision that pop sovereignty would create upward one's hear if they would afterwards last admitted every bit slave or costless states.
4. The Fugitive Slave Act.
5. The abolition of the slave merchandise inward Washington, D.C.

As the biggest concession to slave owners inward the South, the novel Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 succeeded inward rolling dorsum some of the rights attained past times blacks inward the North past times overriding the laws of private states inward mandating the render of runaway slaves.

Clay’s mouth for the Fugitive Slave Act was divided into 4 sections. The get-go allowed the claimant (either the possessor or the slave catcher) to direct keep the defendant fugitive to whatever court, commissioner, clerk, marshal, postmaster, or customs official to stake his claim inside the nation where the alleged fugitive was apprehended. All of the officials of the get-go section, amongst the exception of the federal marshal, were granted the authorisation past times the minute department to number a warrant for the arrest of the accused.

The 3rd department doubled the fine laid downwards inward 1793 from $500 to $1,000 to anyone constitute guilty of harboring the defendant fugitive or to whatever federal marshal who failed to enforce the law. The terminal department of the mouth gave federal marshals the correct to deed inward house of the possessor or the owner’s agent inward capturing suspected fugitives.

Once the mouth was passed into law, the deed farther mandated that commissioners presiding over the cases of defendant fugitive slaves would have a $5 paperwork fee if the defendant was laid costless too a $10 fee if the defendant was constitute guilty too returned to slavery.

Political opponents of the constabulary inward the North argued that the divergence inward the amount paid to the commissioner based on the ruling would entice officials to uncovering inward favor of the slave catcher inward lodge to earn to a greater extent than coin inward such cases.

Southerners, on the other hand, argued that the constabulary did non produce plenty to ensure that their holding was beingness returned too farther argued that northerners were conspiring against them past times non attempting to enforce the law. Sectional rivalries betwixt northern too southern whites continued every bit usual, spell blacks inward both the North too the South constitute their prospects for liberty inward the U.S.A. severely limited.

Though it is unclear whether or non the constabulary truly stopped slaves from attempting to escape to freedom, it is clear that those blacks who had already constitute their liberty inward the North had ground to fearfulness the novel law.

Within the get-go twelvemonth too a one-half of the law’s enactment, solely 5 out of eighty-nine defendant fugitives were laid free. Many northern blacks, fearing seizure, fled farther northward to Canada. Between the fourth dimension the mouth was passed into constabulary inward belatedly September of 1850 too the terminate of the year, an estimated 3,000 blacks had fled to Canada.

Questions of who the constabulary truly benefited too who it conspired against became irrelevant amongst the eruption of the American Civil War (1861 - 1865) too the subsequent enactment of Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation inward 1863.