On February 12, 1793, the U.S. Congress passed the first Fugitive Slave Law to enforce the Constitution’s Fugitive Slave Clause. This law allowed slaveholders to reclaim escaped enslaved individuals by presenting oral or written proof of ownership before a magistrate. Once satisfied, the magistrate would issue an order for the arrest and return of the escaped person. The law denied alleged fugitives the right to a jury trial or to testify on their own behalf, laying the foundation for further legal enforcement of slavery across state lines.
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