Synopsis THE Fugitive Slave ACT Summary PDF

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A cause and effect look on the "Fugitive Slave Act" and an synopsis on its effect....

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Alison Lyons

The Fugitive Slave Act There were two Fugitive Slave trials, one in 1793 and one in 1850 both required that all escaped slaves that were in capture, to be returned to their masters, and officials and citizens of Free states had to cooperate in this law. The difference between this two, was that under the law of 1850 fugitives could not testify on their own behalf, nor were they permitted a trial by jury. Also penalties were imposed upon federal marshals who refused to enforce the law; penalties were also imposed on individuals who helped slaves to escape. Effect in the cause of the Civil War: The Fugitive Slave Law brought the issue home to anti-slavery citizens in the North, as it made them and their institutions responsible for enforcing slavery Moderate abolitionists were faced with the immediate choice of defying what they believed to be an unjust law, or breaking with their own consciences and beliefs. Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) to highlight the evils of slavery. Quotations: ⁕Reverend Luther Lee, pastor of the Wesleyan Methodist Church of Syracuse, New York, wrote in 1855: “I never would obey it. I had assisted thirty slaves to escape to Canada during the last month. If the authorities wanted anything of me, my residence was at 39 Onondaga Street. I would admit that and they could take me and lock me up in the Penitentiary on the hill; but if they did such a foolish thing as that I had friends enough on Onondaga County to level it to the ground before the next morning.” ⁕Joan Rivers: “The ideal beauty is a fugitive which is never found.” Questions: What was the difference between the act of 1793 and 1850? A: In the act of 1850 the slaves could not testify on their own behalf, nor were they permitted a jury. Also there were penalties for federal marshals and individuals who refused to accept this law. What did the Fugitive Slave Act ask for? A: It required that all escaped slaves that were in capture, to be returned to their masters Synthesis: The Fugitive Slave Act made the situation of slavery to be “two-sided”; you would be against slavery or enforcing it, because this law would require you to “cooperate” with the state,

Alison Lyons

and watch a poor fugitive slave returned to his/her mastered. In the other hand you could be an abolitionist and fight for his/her freedom and be penalized or jailed....