The 1793 Fugitive Slave Act (Feb. 12, 1793, ch. 7, 1 Stat. 302) was written in response to a conflict between Pennsylvania and Virginia. Although the problem of fugitive slaves was addressed at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 (in Article IV, Section 2 in the final document), there was an assumption that interstate cooperation would allow this provision to be enforced. In reality, differences of moral attitudes and questions over legal responsibility for enforcement made the rendition of fugitives difficult. Official language(s) English, Pennsylvania Dutch Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Area  Ranked 33rd  - Total 46,055 sq mi (119,283 km²)  - Width 280 miles (455 km)  - Length 160 miles (255 km)  - % water 2. ... Official language(s) English Capital Richmond Largest city Virginia Beach Area  Ranked 35th  - Total 42,793 sq mi (110,862 km²)  - Width 200 miles (320 km)  - Length 430 miles (690 km)  - % water 7. ... In the history of slavery in the United States, a fugitive slave was a slave who had escaped his or her masters often with the intention of traveling to a place where the state of his or her enslavement was either illegal or not enforced. ... This article discusses the history of the United States Constitution. ... In law, rendition is a surrender or handing over of persons or property, particularly from one jurisdiction to another. ...

The particular case that forced the U.S. Congress's hand in 1793 centered around John Davis. Pennsylvania's governor, Thomas Mifflin, sought the extradition of three Virginians accused of kidnapping Davis and taking him to Virginia. Virginia's governor, Beverly Randolph, refused the extradition request on the grounds that Davis was a fugitive slave subject to rendition. Mifflin objected, claiming that Davis was free and should be protected. The 1793 Fugitive Slave Law was written in response to this interstate struggle. This law marked the first of several federal attempts to balance the rights of personal liberty and personal property when one state's recognition of liberty directly impinged on another state's recognition of property rights in slaves. Type Bicameral Houses Senate House of Representatives United States Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D since January 4, 2007 Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D since January 4, 2007 Members 535 plus 4 Delegates and 1 Resident Commissioner Political groups (as of November 7, 2006 elections) Democratic Party Republican... 1793 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... John Davis is the name of several persons: John Davis (1550?-1605), an English navigator and explorer. ... Thomas Mifflin , John Singleton Copley, 1773. ...

Although slaves' legal status as property disqualified them from claiming constitutional rights, the Fugitive Slave Law of 1793 denied these rights to freed slaves as well. Escaped slaves were not allowed jury trials, and it was not uncommon for runaways to be refused permission to present proof of their freedom in court. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

The law gave teeth to the provisions of the U.S. Constitution that protected slavery. It made it a federal crime to assist an escaping slave, and established the legal mechanism by which escaped slaves could be seized (even in "free" states), brought before a magistrate, and returned to their masters. The Act made every escaped slave a fugitive-for-life, liable to recapture at any time anywhere within the territory of the United States, along with any children subsequently born of enslaved mothers. A whole industry of slave-catching developed in response to the Act, and even free blacks were sometimes unlawfully seized by slave-catchers and sold into slavery. The Act had a chilling effect on the lives of the one-fifth of the American population that was of African descent, and the Underground Railroad developed in response to it. Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act overwhelmingly in February 1793, and President George Washington signed it into law on February 12, 1793. Page I of the Constitution of the United States of America Page II of the United States Constitution Page III of the United States Constitution Page IV of the United States Constitution The Syng inkstand, with which the Constitution was signed The Constitution of the United States is the supreme... Slave redirects here. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... Look up Congress in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... George Washington (February 22, 1732 – December 14, 1799)[1] led Americas Continental Army to victory over Britain in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and was later elected the first president of the United States under the U.S. Constitution. ... February 12 is the 43rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1793 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

Excerpted text of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1793

ART. 4. For the better security of the peace and friendship now entered into by the contracting parties, against all infractions of the same, by the citizens of either party, to the prejudice of the other, neither mutual liking. And it is further agreed between the parties aforesaid, that neither shall entertain, or give countenance to, the enemies of the other, or protect, in their respective states, criminal fugitives, servants, or slaves, but the same to apprehend and secure, and deliver to the state or states, to which such enemies, criminals, servants, or slaves, respectively below [sic]....

See also

• Fugitive slave laws

The fugitive slave laws were statutes passed by the United States Congress in 1793 and 1850 to provide for the return of slaves who escaped from one state into another or into a public territory. ...

External link

• Text of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793