On February 12, 1793, the Second Congress ... city or town" to rule on the matter. The act further established a fine of $500 against any person who aided a fugitive. The act was no doubt a ...

In 1793, however, Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act to enforce the clause, but left the mechanism of enforcement primarily with the states. In Prigg v. Pennsylvania (1842), however ...

The passage of the 1793 Fugitive Slave Act, fueled a huge and vastly profitable underground industry that took full advantage of the inferior legal status of free and enslaved blacks. The law made ...