Fugitive Slave Act and Perspectives

What was one of the main provisions of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793?

• It required a trial by jury for all recaptured enslaved people.

• It empowered enslavers to capture enslaved people who had run away.

• It granted freedom to any enslaved person who reached a free state.

• It made it illegal to interfere with the Underground Railroad.

What was the outcome of the Somerset v. Stewart case in England?

• It immediately freed all enslaved people in England and its colonies.

• It declared that enslaved people could be forcibly removed from Britain and sold into slavery.

• It ruled that no enslaved person could be forcibly removed from Britain and sold into slavery.

• It established the Fugitive Slave Act in England.

What was a primary concern for enslavers in the American colonies following the Somerset v. Stewart decision?

• They feared that enslaved people would gain voting rights.

• They worried about the loss of their property rights over enslaved people.

• They wanted to establish new trade routes with England.

• They sought to expand slavery into northern states.

What did the Fugitive Slave Clause in the U.S. Constitution state regarding enslaved people who escaped?

• They would automatically be granted freedom upon reaching a free state.

• They would be discharged from service or labor if they escaped into another state.

• They would be delivered back to their enslavers upon claim, regardless of state laws.

• They could appeal their status in a federal court.

How did many Northerners view the Fugitive Slave Clause?

• As a fair compromise between states.

• As a necessary law for national unity.

• As essentially kidnapping.

• As a law that protected property rights.

Why did Southern states push for the creation of the Fugitive Slave Act?

• To establish new trade routes with Northern states.

• To ensure Northern states would enforce the return of escaped enslaved people.

• To gain more representation in Congress.

• To ban the kidnapping of free people of color.

Which of the following was a provision of the new Fugitive Slave Act?

• It allowed escaped enslaved people to testify in court.

• It offered financial rewards to those who helped enslaved people escape.

• It permitted enslavers and slave catchers to enter free states to search for escaped individuals.

• It abolished slavery in all new territories.

How did the Fugitive Slave Act affect many people in the Northern states?

• It led to a decrease in anti-slavery sentiments.

• It encouraged more people to move to Southern states.

• It forced them to confront the harsh realities and inhumanity of slavery.

• It resulted in widespread acceptance of slavery across the Union.