was running worth it?
Was Running Away Worth It? The Fugitive Slave Laws were the federal acts of 1793 and 1850 that provided for the return between states of escaped black slaves. As slavery was abolished in the Northern states, however, the law of 1793 was only loosely enforced. As a concession to the South, another more rigorous fugitive slave law was passed by Congress as part of the Compromise of 1850. The law stated that any federal marshal who did not arrest an alleged runaway slave could be fined $1000. People suspected of being a runaway slave could be arrested without warrant and turned over to a claimant on nothing more than his sworn testimony of ownership. A suspected black slave could not ask for a jury trial nor testify on his or her behalf. It also stated that any person aiding a runaway slave by providing shelter, food or any other form of assistance was liable to six month’s imprisonment and a $1,000 fine. Those officers capturing a fugitive slave were entitled to a fee and this encouraged some officers to kidnap free Negroes and sell them to slave-owners. Although runaway slaves were quite common, the success rate of these escapes was rare. Slave owners used many different tactics to get back their slaves and within a few days of leaving the plantation, runaway slaves were brought back and heavily punished. With the lack of success rates of these escapes and the Fugitive Slave Law enforced, slaves needed huge motivating factors to want to endure the experience and dangers of escaping. Many times children were ripped away from their parents or siblings and sold to different masters. Some slaves escaped for hope to one day see their family again or if they reached freedom, to be able to buy the freedom of a family member. Most of the slaves, however, were torn from their families and expected to never see them again. The most forthright motivating factor was the brutality practiced by overseers and the realization of one’s fate in the institution of slavery. Slaves were claimed as property by their slave owners and treated with the cruelest and inhuman manners. Watching the harsh treatment of other slaves was a glimpse into their own future if they did not attempt to escape. Majority of slaves had inadequate housing, food, and clothing. They were worked under the most extreme conditions, sometimes from sun up to sundown. One example is from the narrative of Col. W. Mallory, an ex slave who escaped against all odds and won his freedom. After seeing a fellow slave beaten to death for no particular reason and the corpse kicked aside, he said, “One in particular impressed itself on my mind and showed to me the vital necessity of escaping to freedom if I ever wished to call my life my own.” The malicious treatment of the slaves drove many slaves to desire death.