Final answer:
The 1850 Fugitive Slave Act was a law that required escaped slaves to be returned to their owners. It affected people by increasing slave hunters and causing fear among free African Americans.
Step-by-step explanation:
The 1850 Fugitive Slave Act was a law that was part of the Compromise of 1850, which aimed to settle tensions between the North and the South regarding the issue of slavery. The act required escaped slaves to be returned to their owners, even if they had reached free states. People were affected by this law in several ways. First, it incentivized citizens to capture and return escaped slaves, leading to an increase in slave hunters. Secondly, it caused fear and anxiety among free African Americans, as they could be mistakenly identified as escaped slaves and captured.
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