The Fugitive Slave Act was a controversial and oppressive law passed by the United States Congress in 1850 as part of the Compromise of 1850. This law required that all escaped slaves, regardless of whether they were captured in free states or slave states, be returned to their owners.

The Fugitive Slave Act was met with strong opposition from abolitionists and northern states who believed that it was unjust to force free states to participate in the capture and return of runaway slaves. Many free Black individuals were at risk of being captured and returned to slavery under this law.

The passing of the Fugitive Slave Act further intensified tensions between the North and South leading up to the Civil War. It also played a significant role in the Underground Railroad, a network of secret routes and safe houses used by enslaved individuals to escape to free states and Canada.

The Fugitive Slave Act was repealed by the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1865, which abolished slavery in the United States.