Answer:
Step-by-step explanation:
If you were caught helping a fugitive slave during the time when slavery was legal in the United States, you could face severe consequences depending on the specific laws and circumstances of the situation. In the pre-Civil War era, the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was enacted as part of the Compromise of 1850, which required the return of escaped slaves to their owners, even if they had reached free states. This law placed a legal obligation on citizens to assist in capturing and returning escaped slaves, and those who aided or harbored fugitive slaves could be prosecuted. Penalties included fines, imprisonment, or both.
The major parts of the Compromise of 1850 were as follows:
a) California's admission as a free state: California was admitted to the Union as a free state, meaning slavery was prohibited in its borders.
b) The Fugitive Slave Act: This controversial provision required the return of escaped slaves to their owners, even if they had reached free states. It compelled federal officials and citizens to assist in capturing and returning fugitive slaves.
c) Popular sovereignty in the territories of Utah and New Mexico: The territories of Utah and New Mexico were established, and the issue of slavery was left to be decided by popular sovereignty, which meant that the residents of those territories would vote to determine whether they would allow slavery.
d) The abolishment of the slave trade in Washington, D.C.: The slave trade (but not slavery itself) was banned in the nation's capital, Washington, D.C.
e) Texas boundary adjustments: The boundary between Texas and New Mexico was settled, and Texas received financial compensation from the federal government.
Popular sovereignty, as introduced in the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, was the concept that the residents of a territory should have the right to decide whether to allow or prohibit slavery through a popular vote. While it might have seemed like a fair compromise, it ultimately had significant negative consequences. The Kansas-Nebraska Act repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which had prohibited slavery in territories above a certain latitude. This led to a violent conflict in Kansas known as "Bleeding Kansas," as pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions fought to influence the territorial government and determine the status of slavery in Kansas.