Fugitive Slaves (1619-1865)

The monograph surveys legal and social responses to slave flight from the colonial era through the Civil War, outlining colonial regulations, constitutional debates, federal statutes including the Fugitive Slave Acts of 1793 and 1850, and key judicial decisions. It summarizes representative rescue incidents and criminal prosecutions, examines escape networks and the Underground Railroad, and analyzes state personal liberty statutes and their interaction with national law. The narrative follows shifting public opinion and congressional action, describes enforcement and resistance in northern and southern jurisdictions, and concludes with wartime measures, emancipation effects, and appendices of laws and bibliographical references to guide further research.