Fugitive Slave Law

Of all the bills that made up the Compromise of 1850, the Fugitive Slave Law was the most controversial. The Fugitive Slave Law required that all fugitive (runaway) slaves when captured (even in free states) were to be returned to their owners in the South AND stated that all officials and citizens of free states had to help capture them. If they refused they would be breaking the law and face consequences.

1. What did the Fugitive Slave Law do?

For former slaves attempting to build lives in the North, the new law was a disaster. Many left their homes and fled to Canada realizing that even in the North their freedom was in danger. During the next ten years, an estimated 20,000 African Americans fled to Canada. Many runaway slaves were captured in the North and returned to slavery. What made this law even worse was that free African Americans were captured and sent to plantations in the South. With no legal right to sue or plead their cases, they were completely helpless (Like in the movie 12 Years a Slave). Passage of the Fugitive Slave Law made abolitionists want to put an end to slavery even more. Many northerners helped protect African Americans and warn them  that slave catchers were in the area. The Underground Railroad became more active, reaching its peak between 1850 and 1860. The act also brought the subject of slavery before the nation. Many who had previously been undecided about slavery now took a strong stance against the institution of slavery and wanted to abolish it.

The Compromise of 1850 accomplished what it set out to do -- it kept the South from seceding and the nation united -- but the solution was only temporary. Over the following decade the citizens of the United States became further divided over the issue of slavery. The conflict would continue to grow until the nation itself divided in 1861.

2. List 3-4 effects of the Fugitive Slave Law.