Monday, March 11, 2013

What are some views on the Fugitive Slave Laws of 1793 and 1850?

If you start with the idea that slavery is legal, then fugitive slave laws make sense.  It does not make sense that my property could stop being my property if it went to some other state.


However, even if you look at it like that, there were two big problems with the 1850 law, in my opinion.  First, it said that only one witness (white) was needed to prove the black person was a slave.  That seems to invite lying.  Second, the judges got paid more if they said the black person was a slave and less if they said he was not.  That gives them an incentive to say the black person was a slave.

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