Congress passes and President Millard Fillmore signs the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 as part of the Compromise of 1850, transforming the capture of freedom seekers from a state matter into a federal responsibility and converting the entire apparatus of federal law enforcement into an instrument of …
U.S. CongressMillard FillmoreFederal commissionersFederal marshalsSlaveholders+1 morefugitive-slave-actslave-powerfederal-complicityinstitutional-corruptionkidnapping+1 more
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. CongressGeorge WashingtonFederal judgesSlaveholdersFreedom seekersslaveryinstitutional-corruptionfugitive-slave-actfederal-complicitydue-process-violation
On August 28, 1787, South Carolina delegates Pierce Butler and Charles Pinckney attempt unsuccessfully to include “fugitive slaves” in the Constitution’s extradition clause during Constitutional Convention debates. The following day, August 29, the South Carolina delegation …
Pierce ButlerCharles PinckneyJames MadisonSouth Carolina delegatesCommittee of Stylefugitive-slave-clauseslaveryconstitutional-designinstitutional-corruptionfederal-complicity+1 more