Fugitive Slaves (1619-1865)McDougall, Marion Gleason
History
Fugitive Slaves (1619-1865)
McDougall, Marion Gleason
Fugitive slaves -- United States; Slavery -- Law and legislation -- United States
When it came up in the Senate, June 23, 1862, Mr. Clark moved to strike
out all after the enacting clause, and to insert a substitute which would
again unite the confiscation and emancipation bills. This amendment was
rejected by the House, and a conference committee was appointed which
reported July 11 and 12. The fugitive from a disloyal master was by this
compromise to be deemed a captive of war, and forever freed from
servitude.[333] The report was adopted by both houses, and approved by
the President, July 17, 1862.[334] From that date any slave of a disloyal
master who could make his way into the territory occupied by the Northern
troops was _ipso facto_ free. The fugitive was to become a freeman.
=§ 92. Effect of the Emancipation Proclamation (1863).=--The complete
emancipation of the negroes within the Confederate lines was the next
logical step, and was demanded as a war measure. It deprived the
Confederacy of the aid of these slaves, and at the same time made it
possible to arm and employ the former slaves against their masters.
September 22, 1862, President Lincoln issued his preliminary
proclamation, by which he warned the South that, unless it should return
to its allegiance, all persons held as slaves in the States in rebellion
on the 1st of January, 1863, should be "thenceforth and forever free."
At the end of one hundred days the final and absolute Proclamation was
put forth, January 1, 1863. It declared also that negroes might be
received into the armed service of the United States; and henceforth
throughout the war, the former slaves were enrolled as soldiers and did
good service for the government.
The effect of this proclamation was to end slavery, and with it the
return of fugitives, within the Confederate lines. But here the legal
machinery of the government had no effect; the State laws relating to
slavery might be considered suspended, but practically the laws and
practices of the Confederacy prevailed. On the other hand, the Fugitive
Slave Law yet existed upon the statute-book where the Union had power;
the arrest and imprisonment of fugitives was yet legal, and many desired
to see the law repealed as another step toward the final crushing out of
the system.
[Sidenote: Fugitives from Loyal Slave States.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account