Fugitive Slave Act Dbq

The Fugitive Slave Act was part of a group of laws that are referred to as the Compromise of 1850. As part of the Fugitive Slave Act, antislavery advocates were able to have California admitted as a free state and they also gained the prohibition of slave trade in the District of Columbia. The existence of the Fugitive Slave Act played a big role to the end of slavery. It also encouraged the continued operation of the Underground Railroad, a network of over 3000 homes and stations that helped escaping slaves to travel from the south slave holding states to the northern states and Canada.

The Fugitive Slave Act was a big part of the conflict between northern and southern slave states. It led to many runaway slaves in the border slave states. The Fugitive Slave Act had two components, one …show more content…
It forced the northern coalition partners to vote for a measure that was anathema in the north, it allowed the southerners to see whether there was a sufficient number of Northerners that could support pro-southern measures. The Act was also a form of signaling that allowed the northern pivotal votes in Congress to reveal whether they were pro or anti south. It provided southerners with critical information about the future of national politics and about the future of slavery in the nation.

In conclusion it is viewed by historians that the Fugitive Slave Act was not an irrational measure sought by Southerners for symbolic reasons, but instead was based on the problem of runaway male slaves in the border states and on the future security of slavery in the nation.

Describe the outcome or long-term impact of the incident .

(Why do we remember this today; does it still have an impact?)

The Fugitive Slave Act played a huge role to end the era of slavery almost 12 years after its passage. It definitely has an impact today because it was the start of the end of