This controversial law allowed slave-hunters to seize alleged fugitive slaves without due process of law and prohibited anyone from aiding escaped fugitives or obstructing their recovery. Because it was often presumed that a black person was a slave, the law threatened the safety of all blacks.
-Text from an online exhibit describing
the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850,
Library of Congress, h t t p : / / w w w . l o c . g o v
(accessed December 9, 2009)
What was one result of the law described above?
A. Northerners who believed the law was unfair began to support the abolitionist movement
B. Religious groups left the abolitionist movement to avoid political controversy
C. Southerners used the law to challenge the constitutionality of abolitionist goals
D. Abolitionist societies began to re-focus their efforts on promoting women's suffrage.