Asked by liah
Fugitive Slave definition
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A fugitive slave was an enslaved person who escaped from slavery and fled to avoid capture and forced labor.
Historical context (United States):
- In antebellum America the term referred to people who fled from slaveholding states to free states, territories, or foreign countries.
- Federal law (notably the Fugitive Slave Acts of 1793 and the much stricter 1850 Act) required that escaped enslaved people be captured and returned to their enslavers, and imposed penalties on those who aided runaways.
- The issue sparked legal battles and helped fuel the abolitionist movement and sectional tensions before the Civil War.
Usage: The phrase can be used neutrally to describe a runaway enslaved person, but it reflects the legal and human injustice of slavery.
Historical context (United States):
- In antebellum America the term referred to people who fled from slaveholding states to free states, territories, or foreign countries.
- Federal law (notably the Fugitive Slave Acts of 1793 and the much stricter 1850 Act) required that escaped enslaved people be captured and returned to their enslavers, and imposed penalties on those who aided runaways.
- The issue sparked legal battles and helped fuel the abolitionist movement and sectional tensions before the Civil War.
Usage: The phrase can be used neutrally to describe a runaway enslaved person, but it reflects the legal and human injustice of slavery.
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