AP Success - AP US History: The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850

"Section 7
…any person who shall knowingly and willingly obstruct, hinder, or prevent [the slave owner] from arresting such a fugitive from service or labor…or attempt to rescue, such fugitive from service or labor…or shall aid, abet, or assist such person…directly or indirectly, to escape from [the slaveowner]...or shall harbor or conceal such fugitive, so as to prevent the discovery and arrest of such person, after notice or knowledge of the fact that such person was a fugitive from service or labor…shall, for either of said offences, be subject to a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, and imprisonment not exceeding six months, by indictment and conviction before the District Court of the United States for the district in which such offence may have been committed…"
Fugitive Slave Act, 1850. The Avalon Project. Yale Law School.

Question 1

Multiple choice
According to the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, what was the penalty for aiding a fugitive slave?
  • A fine not exceeding five hundred dollars, and community service

  • Imprisonment for a period not less than one year without the option of a fine

  • Forced labor for a period not less than one year

  • A fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, and imprisonment not exceeding six months

Question 2

Multiple choice
The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was part of which larger legislative compromise?
  • The Missouri Compromise

  • The Compromise of 1850

  • The Compromise of 1877

  • The Kansas-Nebraska Act

Question 3

Multiple choice
What was the primary purpose of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850?
  • To grant freedom to slaves who reached northern states

  • To provide legal mechanisms for the recovery of escaped slaves

  • To abolish slavery in the northern states

  • To establish the legality of slavery in new territories

Question 4

Multiple choice
Which group was most likely to be opposed to the provisions of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850?
  • Abolitionists

  • Southern plantation owners

  • The Supreme Court justices

  • Members of the Democratic Party in the South

Question 5

Multiple choice
The enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 had what effect on the sectional tensions between the North and the South?
  • It had little effect on tensions as it was rarely enforced

  • It shifted the debate over slavery from the federal government to state governments

  • It reduced tensions by providing a clear legal process for slave recovery

  • It exacerbated tensions by compelling Northerners to participate in the recapture of escaped slaves

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