Controversies- Fugitive Slave Law of 1850

The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 forcibly compelled citizens to assist in the capture of runaway slaves. It also denied slaves the right to a jury trial and increased the penalty for interfering with the rendition process to $1000 and six months in jail. This act actually resulted in many free blacks being illegally sold into slavery. One of the most famous cases is that of Solomon Northup, a free musician illegally captured and sold into slavery for 12 years.

The Fugitive Slave Acts were laws that allowed for the capture and return of runaway slaves within the US. Enacted by Congress in 1793, the first Fugitive Slave Act authorized local governments to seize and return escaped slaves to their owners and to punish anyone who aided runaways. Widespread resistance to this 1793 law later led to the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, which added further provisions regarding runaways and even harsher punishments for interfering.

Solomon Northup Drawing (america.aljazeera)

Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 Poster (housedivided.dickinson.edu)