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By: Kristen Van Gilder Return to Homepage |
 The Fugitive Slave Act was passed in congress in 1850,
and intended to recapture runaway slaves and commit the federal
government to holding property in slaves. The northerners and
southerners disliked the Fugitive Slave Act for different reasons,
and controversy between the two regions grew.Many states started to pass Personal Liberty Laws
that went against the Fugitive Slave Act by |
 Many gather to hear speakers talk against the Fugitive Slave Act |
| forbidding officials to enforce
the Fugitive Slave Act. The Personal Liberty Laws also tried
to provide a fair trail for all runaway slaves.Northerners showed more resistance to the laws by
expanding their efforts to help slaves escape. The Underground
rail road was a well-organized escape route for slaves and during
the time before the Civil War it helped 15,000 slaves escape
to freedom. |