Slave Laws Quotes
Van Buren was Ambassador to England at the time.
This was one of the first opportunities that Congress had to legislate on the slavery issue. The Southerners were adamantly opposed to this article although by previous agreement the issue of slavery in the original 13 states could not be interfered with. Majority sentiment of the nation at the time was opposed to extending slavery into the territories. The second part of the quotation shows however, that the slavery in the Southern States would not be undermined by allowing fugitive slaves to escape into the territories, so there was a compromise of sorts that pushed the inevitable clash over slavery off. Compromise and struggle ensued for 70 years until it finally erupted as the Civil War.
Louisiana was then a possession of France
For a slave to run away, capital punishment was not only authorized, but ANY white could execute the runaway, without even a trial. Needless to say that many slaves who were not runaways were killed.
This was the Illinois solution to the problem caused by the Fugitive Slave Act. Pennsylvania and other States had experienced pitched battles over slave owners or their agents trying to forcibly remove blacks. Illinois could claim to the slave catchers that there were no runaway slaves in the State as a result of their law. As anti Black as the second part seems to indicate, there was a catch. The Blacks could enter Illinois and stay for 10 days—enough time to rest and obtain nourishment and then be on their way to Canada. It turned out that the law offended everyone as often happens when compromise is attempted on fundamental principles like slavery and racism.
In contrast to Massachusetts with had passed a law in 1641 banning slavery (Quote 643567), Maryland 22 years later became to first state to pass a law to formally recognize and allow Negro slavery.
In the brutal history of slavery there were very few instances of any degree of minimal humanity by slave states. This is one.
