Fugitive Slave Act - Free Paper Sample

Introduction

The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 came up with several federal laws that allowed the capture of runaway slaves and their return to their owners within the United States territories. The Fugitive Slave Act also imposed penalties on anyone who helped the slaves escape or tried interrupt their capture. The Fugitive Slave Act was created as a result of raising concerns of new free states which did not accept slavery; hence such states had become safe havens for runaways. Majority of the free states were located in the Northern region while a large area of the Southern region highly supported and practiced slavery.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was initiated by Southern politicians who were concerned that the new free states would provide safe havens for slaves who escaped the South; hence they came up with a clause that explaining that no person held to service or labor should be released from bondage in the event that they escaped to a free state. Coming up with the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 would ensure that people of the Southern region held the right to practice slavery and capture slaves who fled to free states (textbook, p.231).

Capturing of Runaways

The Act also compelled citizens to help in capturing of runaways, and at the same time, denied enslaved persons the right to a jury trial. The Act also increased the penalty for people who obstructed the rendition process to $1000 and an additional six months in jail to ensure that slavery was continued and upheld. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 also placed the control of individual cases in the hands of federal commissioners. They were paid twice as much money for returning a suspected runaway then for freeing them, greatly favoring the Southerner’s slaveholders (textbook, p.233.)

Fleeing from one’s state to another free territory that was not a state did not guarantee a slave’s freedom. It was almost impossible to escape one’s master successfully because the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 allowed masters access to other territories to look for their slaves and capture them aiming at returning them to their homes where they would remain as slaves. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 also compelled citizens, including those in the free states, to assist in the capture of runaways failure to which they would face trial; hence this did not in any way increase the chances of a slave being free, instead it only increased his chances of being returned to captivity since citizens who would help him or her found themselves on the wrong side of the law.

The fact that the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 also ensured that individual cases of runaway slaves were placed in the hands of federal commissioners, who received more payment for returning a runaway than for freeing them. Therefore, from the provisions of the Act, there was no way a slave would be entirely free from their master because the Act increased their chances of being captured and returned to their masters regardless of whether the territories, they escaped to were free or not.

Subvert the Act

The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 saw widespread opposition, which made the law almost impossible to enforce in individual states, especially Northern states. Republicans and congress members from the free soil often introduced bills and resolutions related to repealing of the Fugitive Slave Act, but the Act persisted regardless. Escaped slaves on the other hand were taking matters concerning their capture into their own hands since the law was not on their side. The enslaved individuals and families called for protests. They declared war and violence against anyone who tried going close to them or their families to such an extent that they swore to kill anyone who attempted to capture them. From the textbook, there is an instance of a mother who murdered her child because she was unwilling to return to slavery with her children and therefore preferred them dead than enslaved. Across free states, individuals stood up for captured slaves by helping them hide and providing them with shelter. Besides, the arrest and trial of fugitive slaves such as Anthony Burns incited riots and protests by white and black abolitionists and citizens, and abolitionists were able to raise enough money to purchase his freedom (textbook, p. 233.)

The Act also saw presidential and vice-presidential candidates of organized Republican Party, which advocated for an anti-slavery platform. Such initiatives resulted in minimal numbers of enslaved people being successfully returned to their Southern masters, contrary to their expectations. Despite initially considering the Fugitive Slave Act to be a compromise intended to reduce tensions between the Northern and Southern states, however became a catalyst to the fight against slavery. Common citizens rebelled against their masters and resisted punishments handed down to them in the long run leading to the Act’s subversion. As a result of most Northern citizens opposing the Act, the South decided to secede from the union, which encouraged the North’s commitment to helping slaves acquire freedom. It made it easier for the Northerners to break the law to help slaves (textbook, p. 236.)

Consequences of Act

The Fugitive Slave Act was terrible for the United States. The Act allowed slave-hunters to cease the alleged fugitive slaves without due process of law and prohibited anyone from obstructing their capture. This Act threatened the safety of all black people, both slaves and free. The Act further forced many Northerners to become more defiant in their support of fugitives. The passing of this Act led to the unjust murders of many black people, both slaves and free people, because to white men, it wouldn’t have mattered because the law gave them the go ahead to shoot and capture them anyway.

Free black people were also captured and held as slaves because the law did not in any way protect them, and no due procedure was put in place to ensure fair hearing and ruling. As a result, black men in the north could not prove whether they were free or not.

Conclusion

The Fugitive slave Act of 1850 is also one of the significant events that led to the civil war, which began in 1865. The law pressured citizens to take sides regarding slavery increasing tensions between the North and the South quickly. This led to the secession of the South and the ensuing Civil War. The Fugitive Slave Act led to the division of states due to their differences in slavery resulting to disunity among the states (textbook, p. 250.)

References

The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Hine Hine Harrold African American odyssey sixth edition.