What impact did the Compromise of 1850 and the Fugitive Slave Act have on Americans?

Answer 1

It had no effect on slaves.

It brought in the Fugitive Slave Act, which had some effect on free(d) blacks, who came under suspicion if they looked as though they might be runaway slaves. The public was under pressure to report people of this sort, under threat of severe fines.

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The Compromise of 1850 did not have any impact on slaves. They remained slaves.

The problem came with the Fugitive Slave Law. Thugs would kidnap Free Black People and sell them as slaves.

In the story Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, the river pirates turn on Jim, the runaway slave, and sell him to the Sheriff under the Fugitive Slave Law.

Huck then claimed that Jim was his slave. The Sheriff did not care. He could sell Jim for more money.

Thus, the problem did not apply to slaves living with their owners but with free or runaway blacks.

Answer 2

The Fugitive Slave Act was meant to make the South feel better about the Compromise of 1850, which did not offer them much else.

In fact, its main impact was on the North, where the general public strongly resented being treated like unpaid slave-catchers, and 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' was written as a protest against the Act.

Answer 3

Many Northerners who opposed slavery saw the Fugitive Slave Act as a blow to the movement to end slavery. In the South, the law seemed to be justified as slavery was an integral part of their economy.