Section 7 And be it further enacted, That any person who shall knowingly and willingly obstruct, hinder, or prevent such claimant ... from arresting such a fugitive from service or labor ...; or shall aid, abet, or assist such person ... to escape from such claimant ...; or shall harbor or conceal such fugitive, so as to prevent the discovery and arrest of such person... shall, for either of said offences, be subject to a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, and imprisonment not exceeding six months ...; and shall moreover forfeit and pay, by way of civil damages to the party injured by such illegal conduct, the sum of one thousand dollars for each fugitive so lost as aforesaid, to be recovered by action of debt … 1. Who do you believe this section of the law was written for? 2. What does the fugitive slave act of 1850 do to the idea of ‘free states?’ 3. What message does the fugitive slave act of 1850 essentially send to enslaved people AND formerly enslaved people who have left slavery?

Section 7 And be it further enacted, That any person who shall knowingly and willingly obstruct, hinder, or prevent such claimant ... from arresting such a fugitive from service or labor ...; or shall aid, abet, or assist such person ... to escape from such claimant ...; or shall harbor or conceal such fugitive, so as to prevent the discovery and arrest of such person... shall, for either of said offences, be subject to a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, and imprisonment not exceeding six months ...; and shall moreover forfeit and pay, by way of civil damages to the party injured by such illegal conduct, the sum of one thousand dollars for each fugitive so lost as aforesaid, to be recovered by action of debt … 1. Who do you believe this section of the law was written for? 2. What does the fugitive slave act of 1850 do to the idea of ‘free states?’ 3. What message does the fugitive slave act of 1850 essentially send to enslaved people AND formerly enslaved people who have left slavery?