In the year of 1850 congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act. The act made it a crime to help runaway slaves and allowed officials to arrest those slaves in free areas. African Americans accused of being fugitives could not testify at all, but Slaveholders could use testimony from white witnesses. A source says that people who hid or helped a runaway slave was put in jail and a fine of $1,000. The Fugitive Slave Act upset many people especially the northerners. Northerners were uncomfortable with the commissioner's’ power. Northerners also disliked the trial without a jury. They also didn’t agree with the commissioner’s higher fees for returning slaves.
