The North wanted more leniency and protection for fugitive slaves, while the South wanted stricter enforcement and harsher penalties for those helping slaves escape. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was part of the Compromise of 1850 in an attempt to address the growing tensions over slavery in the United States.
The South wanted fugitive slave laws to protect their economic interests in owning slaves. These laws allowed them to recover escaped slaves who had fled to free states, thus safeguarding their investment in human labor. It also served to deter slaves from attempting to escape by making it more difficult for them to find refuge in northern states.
The response to the Fugitive Slave Act was strong because it required citizens in free states to assist in the capture and return of escaped slaves, regardless of their personal beliefs on slavery. Many people in the North opposed the act on moral grounds and did not want to be complicit in the return of individuals seeking freedom. This led to heightened tensions and resistance against the enforcement of the law.
Northerners opposed the Fugitive Slave Act because it required them to cooperate in the capture and return of runaway slaves, even if they were located in free states. Many Northerners viewed the act as a violation of states' rights and as a way to enforce slavery in territories where it was not supported. Additionally, some Northerners opposed the act on moral grounds, believing that it was unjust to send free individuals back into slavery.
Some slaves may have returned to the plantation because they lacked resources to survive on their own, feared punishment or retribution from their owners, or felt a sense of loyalty to their families still on the plantation. Additionally, escaping did not guarantee safety as fugitive slaves were at risk of capture by slave catchers.
Slave breaker refers to an individual who was responsible for breaking the will of enslaved individuals through physical or psychological means in order to compel submission to their owners. It was a common practice during the time of slavery in various parts of the world, where enslaved people were subjected to brutal treatment to ensure compliance with the demands of their masters.
To appease the South, so that California could be admitted to the Union as free soil.
It was unpopular in the north because they did not support slavery, and therefore did not want to send escaped slaves back to the south
North dislike The Fugitive Slave Law, because that did not support slavery, and therefore did not want to send escaped slaves back to the south. North brought the slavery issue to their own doorstep , and gave the runawys a heroic victim status.
Well to begin with, the North already didn't like slavery. They tried to put a stop to it. The Fugitive Slave Act required all citizens to help catch runaways. Anyone who aided a fugitive could be fined or imprisoned. Many people in the South believed the law would enforce Northerners to recognize the rights of Southerners. The Northerners didn't want to catch any runaway slaves because they didn't like slavery. The Kansas-Nebraska Act pushed the North and the South more away because Franklin Pierce (A New Hampshire Democrat) supported the Fugitive Slave Act and he became president. Franklin Pierce intended to enforce the Fugitive Slave Act, and His actions hardened the opposition.
The north was against slavery, and the south favored it.
The South wanted fugitive slave laws to protect their economic interests in owning slaves. These laws allowed them to recover escaped slaves who had fled to free states, thus safeguarding their investment in human labor. It also served to deter slaves from attempting to escape by making it more difficult for them to find refuge in northern states.
Calhoun demanded slavery should be allowed in western territories and runaway slaves should be brought back to their original owners in the South, it didn't matter if they were free or not. if u looked like a slave then u go down as a slave(fugitive slave law)....he said if this didn't happen, the south will leave the US(beginning of civil war)
He did not want slave representation, he said that since slaves were property in the south, just as cattle and horses in the north, they should not be represented.
The North to maintain the Union The South to maintain the Confederancy
One of the biggest arguments between the north and the south, was whether or not the new states (California, and other states in the west) would be a slave state or a free state. Who ever gained those states would get the advantage to stop slavery from spreading. When the north won California and another state i believe, the south felt cheated and wanted to secede then but the compromise of the fugitive slave law was issued keeping them in the union. Southern slave owners could see that eventually Congress was likely to outlaw slavery. There were also states' rights issues. The South had resented tariffs that were imposed to protect Northern industry at the expense of the South who had to pay for imports .
Opposition to the Fugitive Slave Act, which would have allowed southerners to pursue escaped slaves and to return them to the south, was high. It imposed harsh penalties on those who impeded these efforts to capture ex-slaves. It also enabled free black people to be sold into slavery. There were no legal protections for those picked up or stalked by bounty hunters, either on a state or federal level. The Underground Railroad took many people to Canada for this reason.
The response to the Fugitive Slave Act was strong because it required citizens in free states to assist in the capture and return of escaped slaves, regardless of their personal beliefs on slavery. Many people in the North opposed the act on moral grounds and did not want to be complicit in the return of individuals seeking freedom. This led to heightened tensions and resistance against the enforcement of the law.