Fugitive Slave Laws
The Missouri Compromise was an agreement passed in 1820 between the slavery-pro and anti-slavery that North of a parallel line that they drew across the USA were free states and below it were slave states. They did this to keep the number of slave states and non-slave states equal.
When California was admitted as a state in 1848, many slave-state politicians got upset. California was being admitted as a free state, and this meant that the slave/anti-slave states were out of balance. To compromise, the Fugitive Slave Laws were passed.
The Fugitive Slave Laws stated that citizens could not help recovering slaves, and that slaves didn’t get a trial. Instead, a special commissioner decided their fate, and they got paid more if the slave was sent back. If you didn’t arrest a slave, you could be arrested yourself! Also, if you brought in a slave you were paid anywhere from $10.
When California was admitted as a state in 1848, many slave-state politicians got upset. California was being admitted as a free state, and this meant that the slave/anti-slave states were out of balance. To compromise, the Fugitive Slave Laws were passed.
The Fugitive Slave Laws stated that citizens could not help recovering slaves, and that slaves didn’t get a trial. Instead, a special commissioner decided their fate, and they got paid more if the slave was sent back. If you didn’t arrest a slave, you could be arrested yourself! Also, if you brought in a slave you were paid anywhere from $10.