Fugitive Slave Clause

E47302

constitutional clause provision of the United States Constitution

The Fugitive Slave Clause was a provision in the U.S. Constitution that required escaped enslaved people who fled to free states to be returned to their enslavers.

Statements (47)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	constitutional clause → provision of the United States Constitution →
abolishedInEffectBy	end of slavery after the American Civil War →
appliesInJurisdiction	free states → slave states →
appliesTo	enslaved people who escaped from slave states → persons held to service or labor →
classification	pro-slavery provision →
compromiseBetween	free states → slave states →
controversy	conflict between federal authority and state personal liberty laws → moral and political opposition in free states →
country	United States of America →
createdAtEvent	Constitutional Convention of 1787 →
doesNotUseTerm	slave → slavery →
draftedIn	1787 →
foundInClause	Article IV, Section 2, Clause 3 of the United States Constitution →
foundInDocument	Article IV of the United States Constitution →
foundInSection	Article IV, Section 2 of the United States Constitution →
historicalContext	United States slavery compromise of 1787 →
historicalRole	contributed to sectional tensions before the American Civil War → strengthened protections for slaveholders →
implementedBy	Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 → Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 →
influenced	federal fugitive slave legislation → interstate legal conflicts over slavery →
interpretedBy	United States Supreme Court →
languageIncludes	No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another → shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due →
legalEffect	denied freedom to escaped enslaved people in free states → limited states’ ability to protect fugitive slaves →
legalStatus	superseded →
partOf	United States Constitution →
relatedTo	Slave Trade Clause → Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution → Three-Fifths Compromise →
relatedToCase	Ableman v. Booth → Dred Scott v. Sandford → Prigg v. Pennsylvania →
requires	return of escaped enslaved people → that persons held to service or labor who escape be delivered up to their enslavers →
subject	fugitive slaves → interstate rendition of persons → slavery in the United States →
supersededBy	Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution → Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution →

Referenced by (6)

Subject (surface form when different)	Predicate
Article IV of the United States Constitution → Article IV, Section 2 of the United States Constitution →	containsClause
Article IV of the United States Constitution →	hasClause
Article IV, Section 2 of the United States Constitution →	hasPart
Article IV of the United States Constitution →	originallyContained
Article IV of the United States Constitution →	subjectOf