Eleanor Finch
The Fugitive Slave Clause, also known as the Slave Clause or Fugitives From Labour Clause, was Article IV, Section 2, Clause 3 of the United States Constitution. It required that a Person held to Service or Labour who fled to another state be returned to their master in the state they had escaped from. The clause was agreed to without dissent at the Constitutional Convention and remained in full effect until the abolition of slavery under the Thirteenth Amendment. The Fugitive Slave Clause was the basis for the Fugitive Slave Acts of 1793 and 1850, which clarified the processes by which slave owners could reclaim their property.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Article | IV |
| Section | 2 |
| Clause | 3 |
| Purpose | To require a "Person held to Service or Labour" (usually a slave, apprentice, or indentured servant) who flees to another state to be returned to their master in the state from which they escaped |
| Status | Made mostly irrelevant by the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which abolished slavery except as punishment for criminal acts |
| Historical Context | Passed as a compromise between states with differing views on slavery |
| Debate | Modern legal scholars debate whether the clause conferred constitutional legitimacy on slavery or served as a political compromise |
| Resistance | Northern states resisted enforcement of the clause, enacting "personal liberty laws" to protect free Black residents and provide safeguards for accused fugitives |
| Influence on Confederate States Constitution | The Constitution of the Confederate States mentioned slavery by name and included a more rigid form of the Fugitive Slave Clause |
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What You'll Learn
The Fugitive Slave Clause's role in the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793
The Fugitive Slave Clause, which is part of the United States Constitution, specifically Article IV, Section 2, Clause 3, addresses the legal status and treatment of escaped slaves who flee to another state. The clause was a compromise between northern and southern states during the Constitutional Convention of 1787, as slavery was a divisive issue. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 was the first significant piece of federal legislation to put the Fugitive Slave Clause into practice. The act stipulated that slaves were considered property and that owners had a right to recover their slaves even if they escaped to free states. It authorized local governments and law enforcement officials in free states to seize and return escaped slaves to their owners. This act strengthened the legal framework for the return of fugitive slaves and made it a federal crime to assist or hinder the capture and return of a fugitive slave.
The Fugitive Slave Clause itself states:
> "No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour, but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due."
In simple terms, this clause establishes that a slave's legal status follows them across state lines. If a slave escapes from one state to another, the laws of the state they escaped to cannot override the property rights of the slave owner. This clause effectively prevented free states from offering true freedom to escaped slaves and forced them to cooperate in returning slaves to their owners.
The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 built upon this clause by establishing procedures for the return of fugitive slaves. It required state governments and law enforcement officials in free states to assist in the capture and return of escaped slaves. The act also allowed slave owners or their agents to pursue and capture fugitive slaves themselves, a practice known as "slave catching." These slave catchers often operated in groups and were authorized to enter free states, break into suspected fugitive's homes, and use force if necessary to capture and return slaves.
The act also imposed penalties on anyone who assisted a fugitive slave or hindered their capture. Those who aided fugitive slaves could be fined $500 or imprisoned for six months. This effectively deterred many people in free states from offering assistance to escaped slaves, even if they personally opposed slavery. The combination of the Fugitive Slave Clause and the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 created a powerful legal framework that protected the property rights of slave owners and made it extremely difficult for escaped slaves to find refuge in free states. It also highlighted the tensions between slaveholding states and free states, as the enforcement of these laws often caused controversy and resentment in northern states.
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Northern resistance to the Fugitive Slave Clause in the 19th century
The Fugitive Slave Clause, or Article IV, Section 2 of the United States Constitution, stated that escaped slaves who fled to another state would be returned to their owners. This clause was a source of great controversy and tension between the North and the South in the 19th century, as it required Northern states to cooperate in the return of escaped slaves, even if slavery had been abolished in those states.
Resistance to the Fugitive Slave Clause in the North grew as the abolition movement gained momentum in the early 19th century. Many Northerners, particularly those with strong abolitionist beliefs, objected to the clause on moral grounds, arguing that it violated the fundamental principles of liberty and equality upon which the nation had been founded. They believed that no person should be forced into slavery and that the clause infringed on the rights of free states to make their own laws and protect their citizens.
One of the most prominent forms of resistance to the Fugitive Slave Clause was the establishment of "underground railroads," a network of secret routes and safe houses that helped escaped slaves reach freedom in the North or in Canada. Abolitionists and sympathetic individuals, often referred to as "conductors," risked their own safety to provide food, shelter, and transportation for escaped slaves, despite the legal consequences they could face if caught.
In addition to these clandestine activities, there were also more public displays of resistance to the Fugitive Slave Clause. In some cases, Northern states passed personal liberty laws that made it more difficult to enforce the clause. These laws guaranteed alleged fugitive slaves the right to a jury trial and made it a crime to kidnap free blacks and sell them into slavery. While these laws did provide some protection for escaped slaves, they also often led to conflicts between state and federal authorities, as the federal government argued that these laws interfered with their constitutional duty to return escaped slaves.
Another form of resistance was the emergence of abolitionist literature and media, which often criticized the Fugitive Slave Clause and encouraged people to defy it. Newspapers like "The Liberator," founded by William Lloyd Garrison, and "The North Star," co-founded by Frederick Douglass, played a crucial role in spreading abolitionist ideas and galvanizing opposition to the clause. These publications not only provided a platform for debate and discussion but also helped to organize and mobilize those who opposed slavery and the Fugitive Slave Clause.
The resistance to the Fugitive Slave Clause was not without consequences. As tensions escalated, there were instances of violent clashes, such as the Christiana Riot of 1851 in Pennsylvania, where a group of blacks and whites clashed with slave catchers, resulting in the death of a slave catcher and the escape of the fugitive slave. Such incidents further heightened tensions between the North and the South and contributed to the growing sectional divide that ultimately led to the Civil War.
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The constitutional legitimacy of slavery
The legitimacy of slavery in the US Constitution was a highly contested issue, with modern legal scholars debating whether the Fugitive Slave Clause conferred constitutional legitimacy on slavery. The Clause, also known as Article IV, Section 2, Clause 3, required that a "Person held to Service or Labour" who fled to another state be returned to their master. While the Clause did not explicitly mention "slave" or "slavery", it formed the basis for the Fugitive Slave Acts of 1793 and 1850, which authorised the seizure and return of runaway enslaved people.
The institution of slavery led to several constitutional compromises, including the Fugitive Slave Clause. The writers of the US Constitution agreed that states should return fugitives to their owners, and the Clause effectively gave slaveholders the right to reclaim their "property" from another state. This was a significant compromise, as by 1787, when the Constitutional Convention met to revise the Articles of Confederation, slavery was a pivotal and contentious institution in the American South.
Some legal scholars argue that the vague wording of the Clause was intentional, serving as a political compromise that avoided overtly validating slavery at the federal level. Historian Donald Fehrenbacher supports this view, noting a last-minute change in the Clause's wording from "legally held to service or labour in one state" to "held to service or labour in one state, under the laws thereof". This revision made it impossible to infer that the Constitution legally sanctioned slavery.
However, others contend that the Clause's ambiguity functionally entrenched slaveholder power. Akhil Reed Amar argues that the Clause's vague wording allowed both pro- and anti-slavery factions to claim constitutional ground, reflecting deeper contradictions in the founding document. Indeed, the Fugitive Slave Clause was heavily emphasised and cited by South Carolina in its Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union in 1860. The declaration accused Northern states of flagrantly violating the Clause by enacting personal liberty laws to protect free Black residents and provide safeguards for accused fugitives.
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The Confederate States' Constitution and slavery
The Constitution of the Confederate States of America was approved on March 11, 1861, by delegates from the newly formed Confederate States. It was the supreme law of the Confederate States of America and superseded the Provisional Constitution of the Confederate States in 1862. The Confederate Constitution mirrored the United States Constitution in many ways, but there were crucial differences in tone and legal content, primarily regarding slavery.
The Confederate Constitution explicitly mentioned slavery by name and specified African Americans as the subjects, unlike the U.S. Constitution, which used terms like "Person held to Service or Labour." One article banned any Confederate state from making slavery illegal, and another ensured that enslavers could travel between Confederate states with their slaves. The Confederate Constitution also accounted for enslaved people as three-fifths of a state's population, and it required that any new territory acquired by the nation allow slavery.
The Confederate Constitution added a clause that gave Congress the power to prohibit the importation of slaves from any non-Confederate state. It explicitly protected slavery by stating that no law denying or impairing the right of property in "negro slaves" shall be passed. This was a crucial difference from the U.S. Constitution, which did not explicitly mention slavery in the same way.
The Fugitive Slave Clause, also known as the Slave Clause or Fugitives from Labor Clause, was a part of the United States Constitution that allowed enslavers to recover their enslaved persons from another state. This clause did not use the word "slave" but formed the basis for the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793, which gave slaveholders the right to capture their escaped slaves. While the Fugitive Slave Clause was a part of the United States Constitution, the Confederate Constitution contained a more rigid form of this clause, further entrenching slaveholder power.
In conclusion, the Confederate States Constitution differed significantly from the United States Constitution regarding slavery. The Confederate Constitution explicitly mentioned slavery, protected the right to own slaves, prohibited states from making slavery illegal, and included a rigid Fugitive Slave Clause. These differences reflected the Confederate States' focus on maintaining and expanding slavery as a key institution.
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The Fugitive Slave Clause's impact on the 13th Amendment
The Fugitive Slave Clause, or Article IV, Section 2, Clause 3 of the United States Constitution, played a significant role in shaping the institution of slavery and the political landscape of the young nation. This clause had a profound impact on the eventual passage of the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery and ended the contentious issue within the United States.
The clause stated that escaped slaves who fled to another state were still considered the property of their owners and could be claimed and returned. This meant that slavery was implicitly recognized and protected by the Constitution, and it created a legal framework for the return of fugitive slaves. The clause also contributed to the tensions between free and slave states, as it required all states, regardless of their stance on slavery, to cooperate in the return of escaped slaves. This caused resentment in the free states, as they felt complicit in upholding an institution they disagreed with.
The impact of the Fugitive Slave Clause became even more pronounced with the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. This act strengthened the clause by establishing federal commissioners who were empowered to issue arrest warrants for escaped slaves and imposed penalties on those who aided fugitive slaves. The act also denied fugitive slaves the right to a jury trial and allowed for their immediate return to their owners. The strict enforcement of this act angered many in the North, as it required their cooperation in returning escaped slaves, further fueling the flames of discord between the North and the South.
It was against this backdrop of rising tensions that the 13th Amendment was eventually passed. The Fugitive Slave Clause, and the subsequent Fugitive Slave Act, had highlighted the deep-seated issues surrounding slavery and the differing views between the North and the South. The clause's protection of slavery and its requirement for interstate cooperation in returning escaped slaves brought the issue to the forefront, making it a central point of contention. As tensions escalated, it became clear that a resolution was necessary to prevent further division and potentially, civil war.
The 13th Amendment directly addressed the institution of slavery, abolishing it and prohibiting its existence within the United States. While the Fugitive Slave Clause had sought to protect and uphold slavery, the 13th Amendment took a direct opposite approach, ending it once and for all. The amendment also rendered the Fugitive Slave Clause obsolete, as the very foundation of the clause—the legal recognition of slavery—had been eradicated.
In conclusion, the Fugitive Slave Clause's impact on the 13th Amendment was significant. Its inclusion in the Constitution highlighted the contentious nature of slavery and its protection of the institution angered many in the North. The clause's requirement for interstate cooperation in returning escaped slaves further fueled tensions between the North and the South. The eventual passage of the 13th Amendment was, in part, a response to the issues raised by the Fugitive Slave Clause, as it directly addressed and abolished slavery, rendering the clause irrelevant.
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Frequently asked questions
The Fugitive Slave Clause, also known as the Slave Clause or the Fugitives From Labour Clause, is Article IV, Section 2, Clause 3 of the United States Constitution. It required that a "Person held to Service or Labour" who fled to another state be returned to their master in the state from which they escaped.
The Fugitive Slave Clause provided the legal basis for the Fugitive Slave Acts of 1793 and 1850, which clarified the processes by which slaveholders could reclaim their "property" and gave federal officials a role in capturing fugitive enslaved people.
No, the word "slave" was notably absent from the Fugitive Slave Clause. This was a deliberate decision to avoid overtly validating slavery at the federal level and to maintain that slavery existed only under state law.
