Freedom Seekers

Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 Creates Federal Enforcement Apparatus for Slavery

| Importance: 8/10

Congress passes and President George Washington signs the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793, federal legislation enforcing the Constitution’s Fugitive Slave Clause (Article IV, Section 2) by authorizing slaveholders and their agents to pursue freedom seekers across state lines and establishing …

U.S. Congress George Washington Federal judges Slaveholders Freedom seekers slavery institutional-corruption fugitive-slave-act federal-complicity due-process-violation
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