Reference no: EM133311220

Question: The Fugitive Slave Act greatly increased the federal government's obligation to return escaped slaves to their owners, and going further, left abolitionists perplexed with the decision of whether or not to break the law to uphold their values. Under the law, intimidating slave catchers and helping fugitives avoid capture constituted resistance to the Fugitive Slave Act. So, considering all you have learned thus far on the history of slavery and the movement to end slavery in the 1850s in the United States, when do you feel acts of civil disobedience and violence can be justified by the outrageousness of the violation they are defending? If you were alive in the 1850s, would you support extralegal activities in an effort to aid fugitives or respect the sanctity of law and refrain? Would you pass judgment on individuals who chose to uphold the law or the ones who openly defied it?