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How Did The Fugitive Slave Law Lead To The Civil War

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Before the Civil War began, America was already deeply divided between the North and the South. Furthermore, when the Fugitive Slave Law, was passed by Congress, on September 18, 1850, after having been a law already in 1793 and changed at the request of the southerners, and then repealed in 1864. This law appealed for the return of runaway slaves to their masters and made it a crime to aid or assist the slaves in any way. This created havoc between the North and the South, as this law clearly supported the South and slavery and also put Northerners in a delicate situation as it was nearly impossible to stay neutral. This caused historians to question to what extent the fugitive slave law led to the Civil War. The Fugitive Slave Law led to …show more content…

According to McPherson, “Notable incidents such as the Christiana Riot in Pennsylvania and the capture and trial of Anthony Burns in Massachusetts became focal points of outrage and protest against the law.” Events such as these where black slaves were robbed of their liberty or showed courage by standing up for themselves mobilized the existing abolitionist groups but also helped convince many indifferent Northerners that slavery needed to end, motivating them to mobilize themselves against the South. The North Star, later known as Frederick Douglass’ Paper, was a newspaper created and developed by Frederick Douglass. It aimed to denounce slavery, and this newspaper held the motto; “Right is of no Sex - Truth is of no Color - God is the Father of us all, and we are all brethren.”. The widespread coverage of these dramatic confrontations in newspapers and pamphlets increased public awareness and sympathy for the abolitionist cause, while in the South, it reinforced pro-slavery attitudes and the perception that Northern states were hostile towards Southern rights (Oakes, 2007). As the North and the South became more and more hostile, the opposition and the social influence had many people confirming their beliefs or investing themselves in the issues with a new interest in the subject. Anyhow, as the North and South continued with their growing polarization, which simply showed the growing cultural and ideological divide between the Union and the Confederacy, making a war somewhat

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