The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 required states to return fugitive slaves to other states from which they had fled. The law was enacted by Congress in reaction to a dispute between Pennsylvania and Virginia over the kidnapping of a black man in Pennsylvania by three Virginians. The act provided alleged fugitive slaves with no protection of habeas corpus, no right to trial by jury, and no right to testify on their own behalf.
The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 required states to return fugitive slaves to other states from which they had fled. The law was enacted by Congress in reaction to a dispute between Pennsylvania and Virginia over the kidnapping of a black man in Pennsylvania by three Virginians. The act provided alleged fugitive slaves with no protection of habeas corpus, no right to trial by jury, and no right to testify on their own behalf.
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 also imposed penalties on anyone who impeded the capture and return of escaped slaves. The Act was passed in response to an incident that occurred in 1788 when Virginians kidnapped a free black man in Pennsylvania and sold him into slavery.
When delegates to the Constitutional Convention assembled in Philadelphia in 1787, one of the more daunting tasks that they faced was resolving sectional differences between the North and South centered on slavery.
After weeks of debate proved futile, the delegates negotiated a series of compromises that enabled them to proceed with their primary assignment of forming “a more perfect Union” between the separate states.
In the short term, the compromises regarding the status of slavery established in the Constitution facilitated the creation of the new republic — at the expense of blacks held in bondage — but they also sowed the seeds of turmoil that began coming to fruition during the coming decades.
Although the Founding Fathers did not use the words “slave” or “slavery” in the Constitution, they endorsed three provisions that either codified or protected the “peculiar institution.”
The Fugitive Slave Clause proved to be the most ambiguous of the three provisions, and eventually the most contentious and divisive.
Although the founders were clear that runaway slaves should be “delivered up” or returned to their masters, they did not address regulations for doing so in the Constitution.
At the same time delegates to the Constitutional Convention set about creating plans for a new government, the Confederation Congress convened in New York.
On July 13, 1787, it enacted “An Ordinance for the government of the Territory of the United States northwest of the River Ohio” — the Northwest Ordinance of 1787.
The Ordinance stipulated “There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in the said territory. . . ” and established the Ohio River as the border separating free and slave states between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River.
For the next three decades, that boundary forestalled major sectional disputes over slavery.
It was not long before it became clear that officials needed to establish rules regarding runaway slaves. In 1788, the Pennsylvania Abolition Society informed Governor Thomas Mifflin that three Virginians had kidnapped a free black resident of Pennsylvania named John Davis and sold him into bondage in Virginia.
Pennsylvania authorities indicted the kidnappers, but could not bring them to trial because they had fled to their home state.
In 1791, Mifflin appealed to Virginia Governor Beverly Randolph for the extradition of the kidnappers, but Randolph refused, insisting that Davis was not a free man, but an escaped slave.
Mifflin appealed to President George Washington, who sent the matter on to Congress. The legal dispute prompted Congress to enact “An Act respecting fugitives from justice, and persons escaping from the service of their masters,” in 1793.
Section 1 of the Fugitive Slave Act seemed to favor the Pennsylvanians. It declared:
That, whenever the Executive of any State . . . shall demand any person as a fugitive from justice, of . . . any such State to which such person shall have fled and shall . . . produce the copy of an indictment . . . or an affidavit . . . charging the person so demanded with having committed treason, felony, or other crime . . . it shall be the duty of the executive authority of the State or Territory to which such person shall have fled, to cause him or her arrest to be given to the Executive authority making such demand, (emphasis added).
The law went further, however. Section 3 of the act established special provisions for the return of runaway slaves.
This section enabled slave owners or their agents to cross state lines to capture runaway slaves, take them before a federal or local magistrate, and upon presenting proof of ownership, receive authorization to return the fugitive to slavery. The law provided alleged fugitive slaves with no protection of habeas corpus, no right to trial by jury, and no right to testify on their own behalf.
Section 4 of the act went on to make it a federal crime to aid fugitive slaves and established a penalty of $500 (a princely sum in those days) for doing so.
The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 put real teeth into the Constitution’s Fugitive Slave Clause, and it also opened the door to potential abuses by unscrupulous slave owners and their agents.
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. In addition, Pennsylvania passed a law in 1826, that made it a felony to kidnap fugitive slaves in that state.
In 1842, the United States Supreme Court affirmed the preeminence of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 when it declared the Pennsylvania statute unconstitutional in the case of Prigg v. Pennsylvania.
The court’s ruling proved unpopular on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Line. Although the court upheld the rights of slave owners to retrieve fugitive slaves in Northern states, it also ruled that state officials did not have to assist in the enforcement of federal law.
Many Southerners believed correctly that in some respects the court’s decision weakened their ability to recapture slaves in the North. To prove the point, in 1847, Pennsylvania enacted a law forbidding any state official from assisting in the enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793.
The Prigg decision undermined the intent of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793, and the controversy regarding runaway slaves continued to fester for another decade.
Congress addressed it once again by enacting a harsher fugitive slave act in 1850 as part of the Compromise of 1850. The new statute enraged Abolitionists, leading them to commit open acts of violence against federal officials attempting to enforce the law in Northern states.
Defiance of federal statutes convinced many Southerners that rule-of-law would never secure what they viewed as their constitutionally guaranteed property rights.
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.
Use the following links and videos to study the U.S. Constitution, Federalist Era, and the Civil War for the AP US History Exam. Also, be sure to look at our Guide to the AP US History Exam.
The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 was a law passed by the United States Congress aimed at addressing the issue of escaped slaves. The provisions of the law mandated the return of runaway slaves to their owners upon capture, regardless of whether they had fled to a state that did not permit slavery.
This video from Heimler’s History discusses APUSH Unit 3, Topic 7, which includes the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 and the Northwest Ordinance.
These terms and definitions provide more context for the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793.
Three-Fifths Compromise — The Three-Fifths Compromise was one of the compromises reached during the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. It determined that each enslaved person would be counted as three-fifths of a person when determining a state’s representation in the House of Representatives and the allocation of taxes.
Slave Trade Clause — The Slave Trade Clause, included in Article I, Section 9 of the United States Constitution, granted Congress the power to regulate the international slave trade. The clause allowed Congress to prohibit the importation of enslaved individuals into the United States after 1808, accommodating the economic interests of Southern States while addressing issues raised by Abolitionists.
Fugitive Slave Clause — The Fugitive Slave Clause, found in Article IV, Section 2 of the United States Constitution, required that escaped slaves be returned to their owners upon their capture, even if they had reached a state where slavery was not practiced. This clause increased tensions between states with differing stances on slavery and laid the groundwork for the Fugitive Slave Acts.
Northwest Ordinance of 1787 — The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 established a process for admitting new states to the Union from the Northwest Territory. It also prohibited slavery in those new states, marking an important step toward limiting the expansion of slavery in the Western Territories.
Thomas Mifflin — Thomas Mifflin was an American merchant, politician, and Revolutionary War officer who served as the first Governor of Pennsylvania from 1790 to 1799.
George Washington — George Washington, the first President of the United States, played a role in shaping the nation’s approach to slavery. While a slaveholder himself, Washington expressed private misgivings about the institution. Upon his death, his slaves were freed, in accordance with his will.
Pennsylvania Abolition Society — The Pennsylvania Abolition Society, founded in 1775, was one of the earliest abolitionist organizations in the United States. Operating in Philadelphia, the society advocated for the gradual emancipation of enslaved individuals and played an important role in the Abolition Movement.
Beverly Randolph — Beverly Randolph served as the Governor of Virginia from 1788 to 1791.
Prigg v. Pennsylvania — Prigg v. Pennsylvania was a landmark United States Supreme Court case in 1842. The case revolved around the constitutionality of state laws that restricted the enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793. The Court’s ruling reinforced federal authority over state attempts to limit the implementation of the Fugitive Slave Act, emphasizing the supremacy of federal law in matters related to fugitive slaves.
Compromise of 1850 — The Compromise of 1850 was a package of laws designed to address the growing sectional divide over slavery. It included provisions such as the admission of California as a free state, the organization of the Utah and New Mexico territories with “Popular Sovereignty,” the abolition of the slave trade in Washington, D.C., and strengthened provisions for the capture and return of fugitive slaves.
Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 — The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 strengthened the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793. The 1850 Act expanded the federal government’s role in apprehending and returning escaped slaves, requiring citizens in free states to assist in their capture. The law led to increased opposition and resistance from abolitionists, further inflaming tensions between the North and South.
Personal Liberty Laws — Personal Liberty Laws were laws enacted by various Northern States in response to the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. They were intended to protect the rights of free Black individuals and suspected fugitive slaves by providing legal safeguards, such as the right to a jury trial and habeas corpus protections. Personal Liberty Laws represented a form of state-level resistance to the federal enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act. They were criticized by pro-slavery advocates as being unconstitutional.
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