Fugitive Slave Act of 1850

Questions for Further Study

• 1.: The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 is written in arcane, repetitive, complex legal language; section 6, for example, contains a 451-word sentence. Why do you think laws at this time were written in such language?
• 2.: In what important respects did the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 alter the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793? What change in circumstances motivated Congress to change the existing law? What role did the Supreme Court case Prigg v. Pennsylvania (1842) play?
• 3.: The 1850s were a decade of crisis for the United States, one that would culminate in the Civil War. How did the Fugitive Slave Act contribute to this atmosphere of crisis?
• 4.: In what specific ways did some people defy the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850?
• 5.: Putting aside the obvious injustice of slavery, what specific provisions of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 were regarded as particularly unjust by slavery’s opponents? What do you think your reaction to the law would have been if you had lived in a northern city or in a southern community?