Title couldn’t say it all.
The Fugitive Slave Clause was one of the most controversial clauses in the Constitution because it provided that escaped slaves would be returned to those who claimed ownership.
The Framers carefully drafted the clause to ensure that the Constitution did not give moral sanction to slavery.
And they put the amendment procedures in place to fix problems they knew would need fixing. So Jefferson and Madison and all the rest of the founding fathers were STILL better people than the current set of chimp shit slingers we have now.
No No No. The Constitution mentions slavery only once, in Article 1, the infamous 3/5's clause. No other mention.
The Fugitive Slave Act and its returning to owner provision was passed in 1850. It was part of the Compromise of 1850.
It was points 4 and 5 which were the most controversial, as taking the Southern interpretation of the Fugitive Slave Act, it nullifies the Anti-Slavery Constitutions of the Northern states and California, because with the Dread Scott decision, there was really no way out of slavery. And then enforcing it meant riots and shootings at court houses in places like MA.
Point 5, the Stephan Douglas doctrine of Popular Sovereignty meant that whom every could pressure the situation would win., So pro-slavery people from Missouri were being poured into Kansas Territory, and they sacked the town of Clarence. Then John Brown struck back, dragging slave owners out of their cabins and hacking them to pieces with broad swords. When Southern states started announcing their cession after the election of 1960, this Kansas conflict spread to Missouri and Arkansas. And Brown had already moved on from Kansas to his Harper's Ferry Raid.
Very Very Good: youtube.com
SJG
Except for the fact that the 13th amendment made this clause meaningless since 1868, there'd actually be something to discuss.