Fourth Grade
Worksheets
Fugitive Slave Law
The Fugitive Slave Law was passed in 1850. It was part of the Compromise of 1850. It set up rules on what Northerners were supposed to do when they saw runaway slaves. The South liked the law. It helped slave owners get runaway slaves back. People in the North hated the law. They didn't want to be forced to send black men, women, and children back into slavery.
The law made it illegal for any person to help a slave. If an escaped slave was seen, the slave was to be captured right away. Then the slave would be sent back to his or her owner in the South.
The law let slave owners start a posse anywhere in the United States. A posse is a group of men that usually helped the sheriff. The posse would help capture a runaway slave. The courts and police had to help them.
