Fugitive Slave Act
The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was the fourth part of the Compromise of 1850, written by Henry Clay. (See more here.) This was to settle the dispute of adding California as a state because America was currently surviving on a balance of states allowing slavery, and those who didn’t. (See more here: Background Knowledge.) The much of the North followed this law, but many other states created laws that nullified the effect of the Act (Fugitive Slave Act). However, in the states that did enforce it, threats and acts of mob violence were common, and people who were accused of violating the act were heavily fined, imprisoned, or maybe even both (Fugitive Slave Act).
The Fugitive Slave Act stated that the North had all authority to capture and return suspected runaway slaves back to their owners. Deputies and officers who refused to follow the law were fined a few hundred dollars, and should the slave escape from the officer, then the owners of the escaped slaves would have full permission to sue and prosecute the man for the value of the state, following the laws of the state where the slave originally ran away from. The commissioners were also allowed to call for help to any Northern Citizen, and failure to follow through with this would include a fine up to one thousand dollars and a sentence to prison for up to 6 months, as well as paying to the slave owner one thousand dollars for every slave lost during this time.
Slaves had no right to a trial, and many free blacks were dragged to the south, believed to be fugitive slaves, though they weren’t. Many African-American’s were deprived of their freedom this way.
The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was necessary to keep the South in the Union. Though the effect wasn’t permanent, and had few real effects happen except for tension between the two regions, it was a big part of American history due to the fact of its participation in the Compromise of 1850, which greatly pushed America into the Civil War. The final step of the Compromise of 1850 was the [banning of slave trade in Washington D.C.], the nation’s capital.
The Fugitive Slave Act stated that the North had all authority to capture and return suspected runaway slaves back to their owners. Deputies and officers who refused to follow the law were fined a few hundred dollars, and should the slave escape from the officer, then the owners of the escaped slaves would have full permission to sue and prosecute the man for the value of the state, following the laws of the state where the slave originally ran away from. The commissioners were also allowed to call for help to any Northern Citizen, and failure to follow through with this would include a fine up to one thousand dollars and a sentence to prison for up to 6 months, as well as paying to the slave owner one thousand dollars for every slave lost during this time.
Slaves had no right to a trial, and many free blacks were dragged to the south, believed to be fugitive slaves, though they weren’t. Many African-American’s were deprived of their freedom this way.
The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was necessary to keep the South in the Union. Though the effect wasn’t permanent, and had few real effects happen except for tension between the two regions, it was a big part of American history due to the fact of its participation in the Compromise of 1850, which greatly pushed America into the Civil War. The final step of the Compromise of 1850 was the [banning of slave trade in Washington D.C.], the nation’s capital.