The act gave the men hunting for escaped slaves the means to go into the states and bring a slave back. They didn't even have to prove that who they brought back was an escaped slave, so they did capture free African Americans.
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The Fugitive Slave Act was passed in 1850 as part of the Compromise of 1850 and required the return of escaped slaves to their owners. It was highly controversial and resulted in increased tension between the North and South over the issue of slavery. The act was widely opposed by abolitionists and was eventually repealed in 1864.
A citizen who helped a runaway slave under the Fugitive Slave Act could be fined or imprisoned for aiding a fugitive slave. The act required citizens to assist in capturing and returning escaped slaves to their owners.
The Fugitive Slave Act was passed by the United States Congress on September 18, 1850, as part of the Compromise of 1850.
The Fugitive Slave Act made it illegal for anyone to assist or harbor a fugitive slave, and mandated that law enforcement officials in free states capture and return escapees to their owners in slave states. Anyone found guilty of aiding a fugitive slave could be fined or imprisoned.
The Fugitive Slave Act was supported by Southern slaveholders and their political allies in the United States government. They saw the law as a way to uphold the Fugitive Slave Clause of the Constitution and protect their property rights in enslaved people.
The Fugitive Slave Act was part of the Compromise of 1850, which was passed by the United States Congress on September 18, 1850.