Fugitive Slave Law
By
John C Abercrombie
Imagine for a moment that you were opposed to slavery and encountered a person seeking freedom, or in other words, a run-away slave. Maybe you want no parts of the action, but you find yourself in the middle of it anyway because the law requires you to help in the capture of this individual and return to slavery.
You respond. No Way! But the law of the United States required you to do so under penalty of fine and/or jail. This law applied in the free states and territories.
While there are claims of “States Rights”, the law placed responsibilities on federal agencies. States argued against the right of other states not to get involved, so slaveowners get their property, slaves, back.
Under the law the slaves were considered property, not human beings. Under the law, a slaveowner could go anywhere and reclaim their property. The slave had no rights. In fact, all a slave owner had to do was orally say “that’s my slave” there was no trial. Magistrate judges were paid $5.00 for the paperwork if they declared the slave free, but $10.00 if they found the runaway a slave and returned to the owner.
We see an example of this in the popular movie “12 Years a Slave”. Solomon Northup, a free born Black from New York was drugged, kidnapped and sold as a slave. Northup was shipped to New Orleans, Louisiana and held as a slave for 12 years.
Several states in the north passed Personal Liberty Laws to counter the Fugitive Slave Acts of 1793 and 1850. Some did so by providing for jury trials for escaped slaves, others forbidding state authorities from cooperating in the capture or return of slaves. Some of the states with personal liberty laws included Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan, Main, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Vermont.
Note: in the land that prides itself on a fair and equitable justice system, the accused did not even get a trial before being denied their freedom. In many instances, courts would not accept the testimony of a Black against a White person.
Back to the case of Solomon Northup, he was forced into involuntary servitude for 12 years. Held until he was able to find a Canadian working on the plantation who got word back to New York. New York was a state that provided aid to free New York citizens who had been kidnapped and sold into slavery. This was a living nightmare, where a free person could be sold into slavery solely on the basis of the word of another person and without trial.
Solomon Northup gained his freedom January 3, 1853. No compensation for his 12 years of hard labor. Nothing! There were no sanctions on the kidnappers because the courts would not accept the testimony of a Black person, Solomon Northup, against the kidnappers who were White.
…with liberty and justice for all.
This post is only one part of a month long series that looks at various matters that have long been overlooked. Until the matter is discussed openly and honestly will forever be divided and at odds without understanding why.
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Fugitive Slave Laws – No Refuge Can Save a Runaway Slave
The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 This is our project, and how we intend to teach our class about the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.
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Law
When we consider laws, there is a belief that they are inherently fair. That is until we look into them, such as the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. It required a person who did not believe in slavery to help capture a person merely on the word of a slave catcher that the person was a runaway slave. The person so captured had little recourse. Thus, it is necessary to explore the law and see the impact that it has to understand the carry over that still lingers today. This law placed property rights over human rights. Explore using our Amazon affiliate link below
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The Captive’s Quest for Freedom:
Fugitive Slaves, the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law, and the Politics of Slavery (Slaveries since Emancipation) This magisterial study, ten years in the making by one of the field’s most distinguished historians, will be the first to explore the impact fugitive slaves had on the politics of the critical decade leading up to the Civil War. Through the close reading of diverse sources ranging from government documents to personal accounts, Richard J. M. Blackett traces the decisions of slaves to escape, the actions of those who assisted them, the many ways black communities responded to the capture of fugitive slaves, and how local laws either buttressed or undermined enforcement of the federal law.
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Politics and Social Sciences
As with the Fugitive Slave Laws, we see where property rights override civil or personal liberty laws. Researching this issue, we find that that is because the people writing and implementing the law had a property interest they were protecting. Politics and Social Sciences influence our lives, and it is necessary to look at them in order to understand our current situation and correct it. Start your research here using our Amazon affiliate link
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Historian Matthew Pinsker presents a quick rundown of the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act.
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History
Many facts and incidents in history are available for study, but an overview such as we receive in most history courses gloss over if they even mention them. To find the true story requires study and drilling down which you can do with minimal effort using our Amazon affiliate link
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The War Before the War: Fugitive Slaves and the Struggle for America’s Soul from the Revolution to the Civil War A New York Times Notable Book Selection Winner of the Mark Lynton History Prize Winner of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award A New York Times Critics’ Best Book “Excellent… stunning.”—Ta-Nehisi Coates The devastating story of how fugitive slaves drove the nation to Civil War
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Shop Amazon – Create an Amazon Baby Registry
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Fugitive Slave Act and Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Mr. Zoeller explains how the Fugitive Slave Act and Uncle Tom’s Cabin effected the northern and southern states prior to the Civil War.
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The Jerry Rescue:
The Fugitive Slave Law, Northern Rights, and the American Sectional Crisis (Critical Historical Encounters Series) This compelling micro-history explores how the passage of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 affected fugitive slaves, free blacks, abolitionists, and northern white citizens. The Jerry Rescue: The Fugitive Slave Law, Northern Rights, and the American Sectional Crisis is a narrative of the events surrounding the arrest of William “Jerry” Henry on October 1, 1851.
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Fugitive Slave Act 1850
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“There Is a North”:
Fugitive Slaves, Political Crisis, and Cultural Transformation in the Coming of the Civil War How does political change take hold? In the 1850s, politicians and abolitionists despaired, complaining that the “North, the poor timid, mercenary, driveling North” offered no forceful opposition to the power of the slaveholding South. And yet, as John L. Brooke proves, the North did change. Inspired by brave fugitives who escaped slavery and the cultural craze that was Uncle Tom’s Cabin, the North rose up to battle slavery, ultimately waging the bloody Civil War.
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Grills and Outdoor Cooking
That time of year is here when we can finally get out of the house and enjoy the outdoors. Get what you need here with our Amazon affiliate link below
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The Compromise of 1850
Tom Richey explains the Compromise of 1850, which was put together by Henry Clay and Stephen Douglas in order to try to settle sectional disputes over how to organize the Mexican Cession and the extent to which slavery would be allowed in these territories acquired by Mexico. When California applied for admission to the Union as a free state, Congress was at an impasse.
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Gardening
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History of the Controversial Law that Sparked the Confederacy’s Secession and the Civil War *Includes pictures *Includes stories about the fugitive slave law and accounts about it *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading Despite the attempt to settle America’s slavery issue with the Missouri Compromise in 1820, the young nation kept pushing further westward, and with that more territory was acquired.
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Patio Furniture and Accessories
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What is the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850?
Although it has been 170 years since the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, the remnants of this law are still felt through the United States justice system today. In this video, we break down what the Fugitive Slave Act was, how it came to be, and how it continues to affect the criminal justice system today.
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Outdoor Storage
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The Princeton Fugitive Slave:
The Trials of James Collins Johnson James Collins Johnson made his name by escaping slavery in Maryland and fleeing to Princeton, New Jersey, where he built a life in a bustling community of African Americans working at what is now Princeton University. After only four years, he was recognized by a student from Maryland, arrested, and subjected to a trial for extradition under the 1793 Fugitive Slave Act. On the eve of his rendition, after attempts to free Johnson by force had failed, a local aristocratic white woman purchased Johnson’s freedom, allowing him to avoid re-enslavement. The Princeton Fugitive Slave reconstructs James Collins Johnson’s life, from birth and enslaved life in Maryland to his daring escape, sensational trial for re-enslavement, and last-minute change of fortune, and through to the end of his life in Princeton, where he remained a figure of local fascination.
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Nationalized Slavery:
The Fugitive Slave Law In this episode, Chris CaltonA looks at the horrors of fugitive slave laws, the ways government incentivized the kidnapping of free blacks, and the rise of private defense groups to fight off slavers.
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12 Years a Slave
Twelve Years a Slave is a memoir and slave narrative by Solomon Northup as told to and edited by David Wilson. Northup, a black man who was born free in New York, details his kidnapping in Washington, D.C., and subsequent sale into slavery. After having been kept in bondage for 12 years in Louisiana by various masters, Northup was able to write to friends and family in New York, who were in turn able to secure his release. Northup’s account provides extensive details on the slave markets in Washington, D.C., and New Orleans and describes at length cotton and sugar cultivation on major plantations in Louisiana.
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Another place where the United States has shown partiality against its own citizens. Laws that allowed a free person to be placed in slavery and a judicial system that did not them to testify on their own behalf. Is this really the America that we tout so highly? It takes generations before all the vestiges of these attitudes disappear. It is time to understand and change this sentiment.