Fugitive Slave Laws in the United States
Introduction to Fugitive Slave Laws
Fugitive Slave Laws, acts passed by the United States Congress in 1793 and 1850, intended to facilitate the recapture and extradition of runaway slaves and to commit the federal government to the legitimacy of holding property in slaves. Both laws ultimately provoked dissatisfaction and rancor throughout the country. Northerners questioned the laws’ infringements on civil liberty and deplored the national character they lent to the South’s institution. Southerners complained that the laws were circumvented both because of legal deficiencies (especially the law of 1793) and growing popular hostility to enforcement. The controversy grew with the Republic itself.” (1)
Resources
Notes and References
- Information about Fugitive Slave Laws in the Encarta Online Encyclopedia