The Fugitive Slave Law of 1850
Although the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law was not the first such act passed by Congress requiring that runaway slaves be returned to their so-called owners, this law proved particularly politically inflammatory due to the nature of the year when it was passed, and its specific provisions. Firstly, during this period of time, the American union was continuing to expand, and admit more Western states into its fold. Former territories could be admitted as either free or slave states, and every time a new territory became a state, the Congress was torn by increased division and decisiveness between advocates of the federal union and of state's rights.Also, this law transgressed the notion of what constituted the rights of the federal government in ways that previous laws did not. It called upon the federal government to enforce the law, and did not merely allow Southern states to tolerate slavery within their borders and attempt to find slaves that had fled bondage with state authorities. "The law stated that in future any federal marshal who did not arrest an alleged runaway slave could be fined $1,000." ("Fugitive Sla
The document ends with a statement that women shall be blocked, no doubt, and face ridicule as a result of their assertions, but they must be steadfast in opposing such laughter and obstruction. Although the rights the women of Seneca Falls fought for have been won, the power of their words lives on, and modern feminists could do well to regard it, and embrace its spirit. ve Law," Spartacus, 2006) Although the South cast itself as an advocate of state's rights, this seemed less to validate individual state choice than it did the right of the South to make the federal government support its way of life, and criminalize those Northerners who disagreed with Southern policy. " ("Fugitive Slave Law," Spartacus, 2006) Northerners who disagreed with the Southern way of life were also effectively criminalized. Suspected escaped slaves could be "turned over to a claimant on nothing more than his sworn testimony of ownership. Rather than a polite plea for inclusion, this document is a rallying cry for all women to have their rights acknowledged as human beings. " ("Fugitive Slave Law," Spartacus, 2006) In short, to only did the law, affect slaves but the morality and freedom of Whites living in the North. " ("Declaration of Rights," Women's Rights Natural Historical Park, 2006) It even calls upon a kind of American revolution in the 19th century, regarding the treatment of female individuals, given that females have not been effectively represented by the government, much as, long ago, the American colonists were not represented in the British Parliament that reigned over America: "Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of those who suffer from it to refuse allegiance to it, and to insist upon the institution of a new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. African-Americans even simply suspected of being a runaway slave could be arrested without warrant under the new law, making the status of being a freed man in a free state tenuous, and virtually criminalizing the Black race against the will of Northern states. "Any person aiding a runaway slave by providing shelter, food or any other form of assistance was liable to six months' imprisonment and a $1,000 fine," and Northerners were likely to be corrupted by the law, for "those officers capturing a fugitive slave were entitled to a fee and this encouraged some officers to kidnap free Negroes and sell them to slave-owners. "Declaration of Sentiments" The "Declaration of Sentiments" strikes even the modern reader as a radical statement in the way that it accuses the male gender of injuring the female gender, through passing unjust laws and social prohibitions. " ("Declaration of Rights," Women's Rights Natural Historical Park, 2006)Not only America is condemned, but also the entire history of mankind, that has rendered women second-class, unequal citizens under the law. It calls upon America to fulfill its promise to women as well as men: "We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men and women are created equal. A suspected black slave could not ask for a jury trial nor testify on his or her own behalf.
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