Because it could have allowed some new slave-states in the West.
By passing the Fugitive Slave Act, which forced Northerners to report anyone who looked like a runaway slave. The Northern public greatly resented this.
The Fugitive Slave Act. It turned ordinary citizens into unpaid slave-catchers, and provoked Harriet Beecher Stowe into writing 'Uncle Tom's Cabin'.
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* Joint Resolution - act of both houses of Congress by which Texas was annexed
With extreme indignation at being treated like unpaid slave-catchers. 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' was written as a protest against it.
With extreme indignation at being treated like unpaid slave-catchers. 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' was written as a protest against it.
With extreme indignation at being treated like unpaid slave-catchers. 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' was written as a protest against it.
Southerners expected Northerners to comply with the Fugitive Slave Act by helping to capture and return escaped slaves. However, many Northerners reacted with resistance, forming anti-slavery groups to hide and protect fugitive slaves and refusing to cooperate with authorities trying to enforce the law. This led to increased tensions between the North and South over the issue of slavery.
fugitive slave lawsThe Fugitive Act
Fugitive Slave Act
The Fugitive Slave Law.
They didn't like being turned into unpaid slave-catchers.
Northern Abolitionists did not react favorably to the Fugitive Slave Act. This is because it supported the cause they were against.
It angered Northerners, because they were forced to return slaves that had escaped back to their owners in the South.
Northerners were most pleased that California was admitted as a free state. The south was pleased that the fugitive slave act REQUIRED assistance in capturing runaway slaves or face imprisonment.
Northerners supported the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 to maintain the fragile union between the North and South. Many believed it was a necessary compromise to prevent secession and avoid further conflict over slavery. Additionally, some northerners believed in upholding the Constitution, which included provisions for the return of escaped slaves.