Slave Labour
...states where they ran away from. As slavery was abolished in the north, many northern states passed Personal-Liberty laws that would allow fugitives a jury trial, a right that black slaves never had before. Many states also passed laws forbidding state officials to help capture alleged fugitives slaves or lodge them in state jails. As a compromise to the South, a second and much more precise fugitive slave law was passed in 1850 (infoplease.com). By it "all good citizens" were "commanded to aid and assist [federal marshals and their deputies] in the prompt and efficient execution of this law" (infoplease.com). This new act saw steep penalties that were enforced on anyone who assisted or supported slaves fleeing from oppression. When an offender was apprehended, the fugitive was taken before a federal court or commissioner and was denied a jury trial and his testimony was not admitted. The statement of the owner claiming ownership was taken as main evidence regardless of their presence in the courtroom (infoplease.com). Many opposed Northerners who were once unconcerned with this matter felt obligated to rise up and fight against this act. Although this was a very controversial matter at the time, many judges felt obligated to look past the morality of the matter and uphold the law and the Act of 1850.
The first major infringement of this act happened shortly after the Act of 1850 was passed when Thomas Sims, a slave from Savannah, Georgia stowed away on a ship to Massachusetts to escape from slavery. He was discovered in Boston within a few months and was arrested. This led to an immense public debate regarding whether or not he should be returned to Georgia. Sim's lawyers, Samuel Sewall, Robert Rantoul and Richard Henry Dana argued both that the Act of 1850 was unconstitutional and that a judge in Massachusetts should not be the one who has total control over...
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