9781422274156

SLAVERY AND THE CONFEDERACY Slavery was an important issue from the time that the United States was formed. It was permitted under the US Constitution, ratified in 1787. Prior to that time, slavery had been controlled and enforced by laws passed in the various colonies. The Constitution allowed states to decide for themselves whether to allow slavery or not, but it also included provisions that allowed slaveowners to recapture slaves that escaped to free states in the North. From the enactment of the Constitution to the current mandatory minimum sentencing laws , race has played a significant role in law enforcement. The Fugitive Slave Act was first passed by the federal government on February 4, 1793. This piece of legislature gave slave owners the right to pursue and recover slaves who tried to escape. States were not compelled to enforce the act, but federal authorities could execute it. 2 Many states in the American north found ways to protect escaped slaves from federal laws. Some states allowed escaped slaves an opportunity for trial by jury by implementing personal liberty laws. Others even allowed fugitives on trial to receive legal representation, all in an attempt to hamper enforcement by federal authorities. Those in favor of the abolition of slavery used the Underground Railroad to circumvent the law and help slaves escape to freedom in the North. By and large, states in the North facilitated the disregard of the 1793 Fugitive Slave Act. Slave owners in the American South, however,

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Contemporary Issues: Race Relations