The blacks and other people who led slaves out of slavery were known as abolitionists. Harriet Tubman, is the best known of the escaped slaves who returned to the south to help other slaves escape. She was a primary conductor of the Underground Railroad.
It imposed fines for hiding runaway slaves.
The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 favored the South by requiring that escaped slaves be returned to their owners, even if they were caught in free states. This law strengthened the institution of slavery by making it easier for slave owners to capture and reclaim their escaped slaves, ensuring the continued use of slave labor in the South.
Harriet Tubman
The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 required that all escaped slaves, even if they had reached free states, be captured and returned to their owners. This federal law was highly controversial and intensified the tensions between the North and the South over the issue of slavery.
It imposed fines for hiding runaway slaves.
slaves who escaped to the north were returned to the south and hence sold down the river. Most rivers in the US run from North to South.
Some slaves who ran away were recaptured and returned to their owners. They might be punished by whipping or by cutting off part of an arm, leg, hand or foot. however, their economic value often limited the damage inflicted. Some slaves who ran away died while running (drowned or other accidents) or while resisting recapture. Some slaves who ran away got away, to the northern states or to Canada, and made new lives for themselves. However, even when in the northern states, there were times when an escaped slave might be returned south to slavery. A few escaped slaves returned south on their own to help others get away, and some of those were captured and executed or enslaved.
The tougher 1850 Fugitive Slave Act was an economical measure to have valuable slaves who escaped to the North to be returned. There were bounties for doing so and penalties for not following the law. It was political in that it brought the political issue of slavery to the non-slave North. Even President-elect Lincoln promised to enforce it. And, by having escaped slaves returned, it strengthened the social structure of the South. It also kept the North "white".
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
The Fugitive Slave Laws of 1850 mandated that escaped slaves be returned to their owners, even in free states. This heightened tensions between pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions in the United States, as it forced people to actively participate in the institution of slavery. The laws further polarized the North and South, contributing to the growing divide that eventually led to the Civil War.
The fugitive slave act went beyond just condoning slavery in the south. It made the northern states accomplices. Northern citizens were required by law to turn in escaped slaves. Northern newspapers were required to run advertisements for rewards on escaped slaves.