Figurative slave act. Fugitive Slave Act of 1793, Summary, Facts, Significance 2022-10-24

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The term "figurative slave act" is not a widely used phrase, so it is difficult to know exactly what you are asking for in an essay. However, it is possible that you are asking for an essay about the ways in which people can be made to feel like slaves in modern society, even if they are not literally held in bondage.

One way in which people can be made to feel like figurative slaves is through the use of debt. When an individual takes out a loan or a mortgage, they are essentially agreeing to become a slave to their creditor until the debt is paid off. This is because the creditor holds power over the borrower, and can take legal action to collect the debt if it is not paid. This can lead to a feeling of helplessness and powerlessness on the part of the borrower, and can make them feel like a figurative slave to their creditor.

Another way in which people can be made to feel like figurative slaves is through the use of contracts and non-disclosure agreements. These legal documents can be used to bind an individual to a particular company or employer, and can limit their ability to speak out or take action against their employer. This can create a feeling of being trapped and unable to escape, similar to the experience of a literal slave.

Finally, people can also be made to feel like figurative slaves through the use of manipulation and coercion. For example, a person in an abusive relationship may feel like they have no choice but to stay with their abuser, even if they are being mistreated or controlled. This can be especially true if the abuser is financially or emotionally dependent on the victim, or if the victim has been isolated from their support network.

In conclusion, the concept of a figurative slave act refers to the ways in which people can be made to feel like slaves in modern society, even if they are not literally held in bondage. This can be achieved through the use of debt, contracts, and manipulation and coercion. It is important to recognize and address these forms of figurative slavery, as they can have serious consequences for the mental and physical health of those affected.

Fugitive Slave Acts

figurative slave act

And this gave slavery what we call extra-territoriality. The Missouri Supreme Courtvoluntarily transported the slaves to free states which automatically made the slaves free. Generally, the act deepened the sectional division threatening the Union and fanned the flames of civil war. Any black determined to be more than a certain number of miles from his home was automatically considered a fugitive and could be thrown in jail. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. Scenes from the life of Anthony Burns, who was arrested and tried under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 Photo: Library of Congress Digital ID The severity of this statute inspired an increased number of abolitionists, the development of a more efficient Underground Railroad , and the establishment of new personal-liberty laws in the North Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, n.

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Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, Summary, History, Significance

figurative slave act

By 1860, the inability to find a peaceful resolution to this issue proved to be a major factor in the decision of Southern states to secede from the Union, triggering the American Civil War. The new requirements and penalties had two unintended results. Fearing that the law encouraged slave owners to capture free blacks and represent them as runaway slaves, some northern states enacted personal liberty laws that gave suspected fugitives judicial rights that the federal law denied them. As noted before, the new system circumvented state and local jurisdictions by authorizing federal commissioners to adjudicate fugitive slave cases. Harsher Terms First, the terms of the law were much harsher and more unfair to suspected runaway slaves.

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Social Welfare History Project Fugitive Slave Act of 1850

figurative slave act

Cite specific examples from the text. Retrieved May 21, 2013. Section 1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the persons who have been, or may hereafter be, appointed commissioners, in virtue of any act of Congress, by the Circuit Courts of the United States, and Who, in consequence of such appointment, are authorized to exercise the powers that any justice of the peace, or other magistrate of any of the United States, may exercise in respect to offenders for any crime or offense against the United States, by arresting, imprisoning, or bailing the same under and by the virtue of the thirty-third section of the act of the twenty-fourth of September seventeen hundred and eighty-nine, entitled "An Act to establish the judicial courts of the United States" shall be, and are hereby, authorized and required to exercise and discharge all the powers and duties conferred by this act. Northerners bristled at the idea of turning their states into a stalking ground for bounty hunters, and many argued the law was tantamount to legalized kidnapping. Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. In Northern states like The new law created a force of federal commissioners empowered to pursue fugitive slaves in any state and return them to their owners. The act required that slaves be returned to their owners, even if they were in a free state.

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Fugitive Slave Act, 1850

figurative slave act

This edict was similar to the Fugitive Slave Clause in many ways, but included a more detailed description of how the law was to be put into practice. Section 8 And be it further enacted, That the marshals, their deputies, and the clerks of the said District and Territorial Courts, shall be paid, for their services, the like fees as may be allowed for similar services in other cases; and where such services are rendered exclusively in the arrest, custody, and delivery of the fugitive to the claimant, his or her agent or attorney, or where such supposed fugitive may be discharged out of custody for the want of sufficient proof as aforesaid, then such fees are to be paid in whole by such claimant, his or her agent or attorney; and in all cases where the proceedings are before a commissioner, he shall be entitled to a fee of ten dollars in full for his services in each case, upon the delivery of the said certificate to the claimant, his agent or attorney; or a fee of five dollars in cases where the proof shall not, in the opinion of such commissioner, warrant such certificate and delivery, inclusive of all services incident to such arrest and examination, to be paid, in either case, by the claimant, his or her agent or attorney. So the Fugitive Slave Law was a very powerful instrument. Advertisement Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 Summary The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 was a law that gave permission to local governments to capture escaped slaves and return them to their owners. It was not an honest process as federal commissioners were paid more to grant certificates returning suspected slaves. Some states even made moves to nullify the Fugitive Slave Act itself.

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Fugitive Slave Act

figurative slave act

Section 3 And be it further enacted, That the Circuit Courts of the United States shall from time to time enlarge the number of the commissioners, with a view to afford reasonable facilities to reclaim fugitives from labor, and to the prompt discharge of the duties imposed by this act. Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. . But then the whole process of, under the Fugitive Slave Law, of the federal government seizing people galvanized opinion in the North in a way that the abstract question of slavery may not have done. Many blacks living in the North free and fugitives alike grasped their precarious legal status and emigrated to Canada or Europe.

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Fugitive Slave Act of 1793, Summary, Facts, Significance

figurative slave act

Furthermore, special commissioners were given concurrent jurisdiction with U. Expansion of Federal Powers The third source of discontent among Northerners was the expansion of the federal powers that the law established. Retrieved August 8, 2021. This was intended to curb the growing abolitionist movement and the. And many people who were not abolitionists at all felt they could not cooperate with the Fugitive Slave Law. And the commissioner would judge whether the owner's testimony was believable or not, and then send -- as they usually did -- the person back to slavery.

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Fugitive Slave Act

figurative slave act

And the most effective way to achieve that is through investing in The Bill of Rights Institute. Moderates across the country celebrated the legislation, believing that it had saved the Union. The Fugitive Slave Acts were meant to address the logistical issues. And that's why the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 was enacted, which made the federal government responsible for tracking down and apprehending fugitive slaves in the North, and sending them back to the South. First of all, a number of fugitives became very prominent abolitionist leaders and speakers. These laws had to become more creative when the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 passed but they certainly did not disappear. Instead, newly appointed federal commissioners made the decision as to whether they would return or free a suspected slave.

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Fugitive Slave Act of 1850

figurative slave act

Additionally, those who were captured no longer had the right to a jury trial. It was not until 1864 that the Fugitive Slave Act was finally repealed. Constitution was ambiguous and confusing because it did not define how escaped slaves should be returned to their owners. You could think what you wanted about slavery hundreds of miles away, but when a individual comes to your community, a black individual fleeing marshals who are going to try to grab him and send him back to slavery, it puts slavery on a human level. And the slave was not allowed to testify.

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Fugitive Slave Act: Definition, Significance & Effects

figurative slave act

Fehrenbacher, The Slaveholding Republic: An Account of the United States Government's Relations to Slavery Oxford University Press, 2001 , p. The an executive order that freed all slaves in Confederate territory The Fugitive Slave Act is significant because of the role it played in fueling the abolitionist movement and the conflict it caused between the North and South. It was the testimony of the owner, or the person who claimed to be the owner, of this alleged fugitive. When the first Fugitive Slave Act passed in 1793, personal liberty laws began to pop up across the North. The law denied the runaways the right to a jury trial and the right to testify in their own defense. It shows that the South didn't believe in states' rights.

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A Historian Explains the Significance of the Fugitive Slave Act · SHEC: Resources for Teachers

figurative slave act

Whereupon the court shall cause a record to be made of the matters so proved, and also a general description of the person so escaping, with such convenient certainty as may be; and a transcript of such record, authenticated by the attestation of the clerk and of the seal of the said court, being produced in any other State, Territory, or district in which the person so escaping may be found, and being exhibited to any judge, commissioner, or other office, authorized by the law of the United States to cause persons escaping from service or labor to be delivered up, shall be held and taken to be full and conclusive evidence of the fact of escape, and that the service or labor of the person escaping is due to the party in such record mentioned. This Law meant that you could bring back the slaves no matter where they were. Advertisement The Northwest Ordinance At the same time delegates to the Constitutional Convention set about creating plans for a new government, representatives to the Congress of the existing government established under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 It was not long before it became clear that officials needed to establish rules regarding runaway slaves. Retrieved June 28, 2011. Section 7 And be it further enacted, That any person who shall knowingly and willingly obstruct, hinder, or prevent such claimant, his agent or attorney, or any person or persons lawfully assisting him, her, or them, from arresting such a fugitive from service or labor, either with or without process as aforesaid, or shall rescue, or attempt to rescue, such fugitive from service or labor, from the custody of such claimant, his or her agent or attorney, or other person or persons lawfully assisting as aforesaid, when so arrested, pursuant to the authority herein given and declared; or shall aid, abet, or assist such person so owing service or labor as aforesaid, directly or indirectly, to escape from such claimant, his agent or attorney, or other person or persons legally authorized as aforesaid; or shall harbor or conceal such fugitive, so as to prevent the discovery and arrest of such person, after notice or knowledge of the fact that such person was a fugitive from service or labor as aforesaid, shall, for either of said offences, be subject to a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, and imprisonment not exceeding six months, by indictment and conviction before the District Court of the United States for the district in which such offence may have been committed, or before the proper court of criminal jurisdiction, if committed within any one of the organized Territories of the United States; and shall moreover forfeit and pay, by way of civil damages to the party injured by such illegal conduct, the sum of one thousand dollars for each fugitive so lost as aforesaid, to be recovered by action of debt, in any of the District or Territorial Courts aforesaid, within whose jurisdiction the said offence may have been committed.

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