THE VIRGINIA DYNASTY 1801 1825
MISSOURI COMPROMISE OF 1820
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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Many slaves moved to Canada.
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Northerners refused to obey the law.
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Hounded slave catchers returned to the South.
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Plantation owners did not want returned slaves.
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Detailed explanation-1: -Why did the Fugitive Slave Act fail? The Fugitive Slave Act failed because the North refused to enforce it and fought against it in a variety of ways. They responded in violence, by forcibly freeing captured blacks, for example in Christiana, where African-Americans exchanged gunfire with Maryland slave catchers.
Detailed explanation-2: -The Act was one of the most controversial elements of the 1850 compromise and heightened Northern fears of a slave power conspiracy. It required that all escaped slaves, upon capture, be returned to the enslaver and that officials and citizens of free states had to cooperate.
Detailed explanation-3: -The Fugitive Slave Law clearly favored the slave holders. Anyone caught hiding or assisting freedom seekers faced stiff penalties. United States marshals had to actively seek freedom seekers and return them to their holders. If a marshal refused, the federal government would fine the officer $1, 000.
Detailed explanation-4: -The main reason that most northerners were opposed to the new Fugitive Slave Act was that they felt it gave commissioners too much power and was unfair to slaves by giving them a trial without a jury.