Fugitive Slave Act of 1850

Audience

As one might expect, white southerners and slaveholders celebrated the new legislation. Nothing was heard as to whether the act, with its expansion of federal power, constituted a violation of states’ rights or federalism, which were otherwise cornerstones of southern political philosophy when it came to the defense of slavery. The act itself appeared to be a vindication of southern rights, specifically slaveholder rights, and a rebuke against northern efforts to resist the recapture of fugitive slaves by various means.

Northern critics of the legislation noted that it denied basic civil rights to the accused, gave greater compensation to a commissioner who ruled in favor of the slave catcher and against the accused, and compelled uninvolved bystanders to become involved in an effort to recapture fugitives and bring them to court. Northern blacks were alarmed that the legislation represented a renewed threat to their freedom, as indeed it did. Other white northerners who had supported the compromise measures or who deplored the disruptive impact of the slavery issue on American politics were far more supportive of the new legislation as a suitable implementation of the Constitution’s pledge concerning the recovery of fugitive slaves.