In New York, a newspaper accounts of a story of an African American; Henry Long was captured in the North. He was waiting tables in New York, when kidnappers seized him. Although Long had been living up North for several months before his escape, he was forced back to the South and into slavery. The New York Independent stated that "almost no colored man is safe in our streets."
The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, states that an African American who had escaped from slavery could only be pointed as a runaway to take him or her into custody. They were then sent to court, and would have a testimony by white witnesses and then that slave would be sent south again. But the African Americans were not allowed to testify in court. The federal commissioner in charge of deciding the fate for the African American would be paid $10 for sending a slave back south, and $5 for the decision to send them back north. And any northerner who didn't help capture a slave could be jailed. This could be thought of as civil disobedience becuase as a community and one nation the two societies would not do things that the other side requested, which led to tension among America.
No comments:
Post a Comment