Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 facts for kids
The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 was an important law passed by the United States Congress. It was created to put into action parts of the U.S. Constitution. Specifically, it dealt with people who escaped from slavery and also with criminals who fled from one state to another. The Constitution's Fugitive Slave Clause said that slaveholders had a right to get back enslaved people who ran away. This Act then set up the legal steps for how they could do that.
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| Long title | An Act respecting fugitives from justice, and persons escaping from the service of their masters. |
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| Enacted by | the 2nd United States Congress |
| Citations | |
| Statutes at Large | 1 Stat. 302 |
| Legislative history | |
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| Major amendments | |
| Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 | |
Contents
How the Law Was Created
The Fugitive Slave Act was approved by the House of Representatives on February 4, 1793. The vote was 48 in favor and 7 against. President George Washington signed the law on February 12, 1793.
This law was created during a time when there was a disagreement about a free Black man named John Davis. He had been kidnapped from Pennsylvania and taken to Virginia. The Act, however, did not solve his case. The kidnappers were never sent back to Pennsylvania, and John Davis remained enslaved.
Later, the law was made even stronger. This happened because states where slavery was allowed, especially in the South, wanted stricter rules. The Compromise of 1850 included a new, tougher law called the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. This new law forced state governments and people in free states to help capture and return escaped enslaved people. Many people in the Northern states were very upset by this stronger law.
What the Law Meant for People
This law meant that enslaved people who escaped were always at risk of being recaptured. This risk lasted for their entire lives. It also stated that children born to an escaped enslaved mother were considered enslaved. They were seen as the property of their mother's enslaver for their whole lives.
Some enslavers felt the 1793 law was not strong enough. They wanted more power to get back the people they claimed as property.
Protecting Freedom: Personal Liberty Laws
Many Northern states passed their own laws to protect free Black Americans. These laws were called personal liberty laws. They were important because free Black people could be kidnapped and sold into slavery. These laws made it harder for enslavers or "fugitive hunters" to simply grab someone. They had to show proof that the person they captured was truly an escaped enslaved person.
These laws helped protect free Black residents from being kidnapped. They also showed that Northern states wanted to protect their citizens.
Famous Cases and Their Impact
The Fugitive Slave Act led to many difficult situations. It also caused the "slave-catching" business to grow. Men who were like bounty hunters would capture and return many escaped enslaved people to their enslavers.
Because of the high demand for enslaved people in the Deep South, free Black people were also at risk. Even if they had official papers proving they were free, they could be kidnapped and sold into slavery. Historian Carol Wilson found hundreds of such cases. She believed thousands more likely happened.
Ona Maria Judge's Escape
Ona Maria Judge was an enslaved woman who worked for Martha Washington. She served the Washingtons in Virginia and later in Philadelphia. Philadelphia was the temporary capital of the U.S. at the time. Ona escaped on May 21, 1796.
George Washington tried twice to get her back. He even asked the Secretary of the Treasury for help. But neither attempt worked. Washington tried to be quiet about it. He wanted to avoid trouble in Philadelphia, which had many people who were against slavery.
Ona settled in New Hampshire, got married, and had a child. Years later, in the 1840s, she was interviewed. She explained that even after 50 years, she and her child were still at risk. Martha Washington's family could still try to claim them as property.
Solomon Northup's Story
Another famous example is Solomon Northup. He was born free in New York state around 1808. In 1841, he was tricked into going to Washington, DC, where slavery was legal. He was kidnapped and sold into slavery.
Solomon was held as an enslaved person in Louisiana for 12 years. He was one of the very few people to regain their freedom after being kidnapped. He later tried to sue the slave traders who kidnapped him. However, he lost the case because, as a Black man, he was not allowed to testify against white men in Washington, DC courts.
Solomon Northup wrote a book about his experiences called Twelve Years a Slave (1853). This book described his life on plantations in Louisiana. It also showed how the slave trade worked in Washington, DC. His story was later made into a successful movie in 2013.
Prigg v. Pennsylvania Case
One important legal case was Prigg v. Pennsylvania. Edward Prigg, from Maryland, tried to kidnap a Black woman in Pennsylvania. He wanted to take her back to Maryland as an escaped enslaved person. A Pennsylvania court charged him with a crime.
Prigg was found guilty by a local court in Pennsylvania. But the case eventually went to the Supreme Court of the United States. Prigg had shown a legal paper, but the Pennsylvania court had ignored it. This case showed that the Fugitive Slave Act often depended on state judges. It was not always enforced as a federal law.
See also
