Although two-thirds of Southerners had no slaves, the institution of slavery was intertwined with the region’s economy and culture. The Virginians owned the most slaves out of any state, with a total of 490,865 slaves. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was one of the major events or legislation that increased tensions between the North and the South in the years leading to the Civil War. Congress passed this act in 1793 to add on to an earlier federal law that permitted local governments to capture runaway slaves, return them to their owners, and punish anyone who assisted the fugitives in escaping. The Compromise of 1850 included a revised version of this that was far more severe. The act increased the penalties for anyone who helped the escaped slaves escape and forced citizens to assist in capturing the escaped slaves and denying them the right to a jury trial. Additionally, it put cases in the hands of federal commissioners, who received $10 for the return of a runaway slave but only $5 in the event that an alleged slave turned out to be a free black person. The Kansas-Nebraska Act was another important event or legislation that was passed in the years preceding the Civil
Although two-thirds of Southerners had no slaves, the institution of slavery was intertwined with the region’s economy and culture. The Virginians owned the most slaves out of any state, with a total of 490,865 slaves. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was one of the major events or legislation that increased tensions between the North and the South in the years leading to the Civil War. Congress passed this act in 1793 to add on to an earlier federal law that permitted local governments to capture runaway slaves, return them to their owners, and punish anyone who assisted the fugitives in escaping. The Compromise of 1850 included a revised version of this that was far more severe. The act increased the penalties for anyone who helped the escaped slaves escape and forced citizens to assist in capturing the escaped slaves and denying them the right to a jury trial. Additionally, it put cases in the hands of federal commissioners, who received $10 for the return of a runaway slave but only $5 in the event that an alleged slave turned out to be a free black person. The Kansas-Nebraska Act was another important event or legislation that was passed in the years preceding the Civil