By the middle of the nineteenth century,

the issue of slavery had caused a deep division between the North and the South. Slavery was important to the south, and slave labor was significant to the south’s economy. The north opposed slavery. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 was an effort to provide a means to enforce the constitutional clause concerning escaped slaves. This act allowed slave owners to capture an escaped slave, take the slave to a judge, and if the slave was yours, receive a certificate authorizing the slave to be retaken. Some Northerners saw the act as an excuse for kidnapping free blacks. There was another act called The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, which was an important part of the Compromise of 1850. Slave owners could take a free black to be suspected as a fugitive slave. Once the free black was taken, he/she could not be allowed to be at the hearing and if the owner won, they would get 10 dollars. Although Northerners thought both acts were wrong, southerners are pleased by the acts for keeping their slaves, getting money, and being able to hold down the south.

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