Effect of Act Fugitive Slave Act of 1793

this law put fugitive slaves @ risk recapture lives, slave-owners did not think strong enough. classified children born fugitive slave mothers slaves, , property of mother s master, lives.

oney judge (sometimes spelled ona) 1 of martha washington s slaves , chambermaids; served washingtons in virginia , @ president s house in philadelphia when washington president; city temporary capital 1790 1800. escaped on may 21, 1796. george washington made 2 attempts seize shortly afterwards, enlisting of secretary of treasury oliver wolcott, jr in letter written on september 1, 1796. later nephew visited , asked return. neither attempt successful. washington acted discreetly avoid controversy in philadelphia, had strong quaker abolitionist community.

having settled in new hampshire, married , had child, in 1840s oney judge interviewed rev. benjamin chase. published account in letter editor in abolitionist newspaper, liberator, on january 1, 1847. described under law, , child still @ risk being seized fugitive slave @ time, 50 years after escape, if martha washington s descendants decided make legal claim. legally, had inherited pair part of mother s estate.

woman yet slave. if washington have got , child, constitutionally his; , if mrs. washington s heirs claim her, , take before judge woodbury, , prove title, bound, upon oath, deliver them.

many northern states enacted legislation protect free black americans (who otherwise abducted, brought before court without ability produce defense, , subsequently lawfully enslaved) runaway slaves. these laws came known “personal liberty laws” , required slave owners , fugitive hunters produce evidence captures fugitive slaves, “just southern states demanded right retrieve runaway slaves, northern states demanded right protect free black residents being kidnapped , sold servitude in south,” (finkelman 399). 1 controversy case of prigg v. pennsylvania. edward prigg, citizen of maryland, indicted pennsylvania court attempting kidnap black woman in york county return maryland fugitive slave. tried , convicted local court in pennsylvania, case appealed supreme court. prigg had shown legal warrant pennsylvania court, had been unlawfully ignored, demonstrating fugitive slave act depended on state judges, not national law.

the slave-catching industry expanded result of law, men bounty hunters capturing , returning many slaves legal owners. in addition, because of high demand slaves in deep south , hunt fugitives, free blacks @ risk of being kidnapped , sold slavery, if had free papers. there numerous instances in people legally free , had never been slaves captured , brought south sold slavery. historian carol wilson documented 300 such cases in freedom @ risk (1994) , estimated there thousands more.

a prominent example solomon northup, born free around 1808 mintus northup , wife, in essex county, new york state. (note: in memoir, solomon did not name mother, described of mixed race , quadroon.) in 1841 northup tricked going washington, dc, slavery legal. drugged, kidnapped , sold slavery, , held slave in louisiana 12 years. 1 of few regain freedom under such circumstances, later sued slave traders involved in washington, dc. law prohibited northrup testifying against white men because black, , lost case. new york times published article on trial on january 20, 1853. northup published memoir, twelve years slave (1853), slave narrative of plantation life on red river in louisiana, , description of slave trade in washington, dc.

the memoir adapted feature-film in 2013 steve mcqueen, winning 3 academy awards, including best picture. critics praised screenplay , performances, though there conflicting views historical accuracy of events, both in film , in book.