ARP380 The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793
American Revolution Podcast
Michael Troy
4.8 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 15 March 2026
⏱️ 32 minutes
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| 0:00.0 | You're listening to an Airwave Media podcast. |
| 0:04.7 | Grownups, if there's a child in your life who is interested in, curious about, or fascinated by people and places from history, then my podcast, the past and the curious, might just be a hit in your home. |
| 0:17.1 | From the invention of microscopes to world-traveling dogs to fashions of the 1890s, gold rush ghost towns, and audiences going wild for walking competitions, |
| 0:27.3 | we've got a little bit of it all. |
| 0:29.5 | Hosted by children's author and museum educator Mick Sullivan, that's me, the show is |
| 0:34.4 | fun, funny, engaging, honest, and beloved by kids and parents alike. |
| 0:39.4 | Find the past in the curious at all the usual podcast places. |
| 0:58.7 | Hello, and thank you for joining the American Revolution. |
| 1:04.8 | Last week, we covered the elections of 1992, which gave us the senators and representatives for the third Congress, and also the re-election of George Washington. The new Congress could |
| 1:10.3 | have begun its session in March of 1793. |
| 1:13.7 | In fact, the new Congress did not meet until December of that year. Following the December 1792 elections, |
| 1:21.0 | the second Congress continued to meet and pass legislation until March. In February, it took up the Fugitive Slave Act. |
| 1:29.4 | Before we get into the substance, I need to make clear that the law was not called the Fugitive Slave |
| 1:34.3 | Act. That's what everyone called it later. In fact, the text of the statute does not even use |
| 1:40.1 | the word slave. The statute was entitled, quote, an act respecting fugitives from justice |
| 1:46.6 | and persons escaping the service of their masters. The first part of the law dealt with returning |
| 1:52.9 | fugitives who were facing criminal charges. The second part referred to, quote, a person held to |
| 1:59.7 | labor in any of the United States or territories. |
| 2:03.6 | This included both slaves and indentured servants. The Constitution had already explicitly authorized |
| 2:09.8 | this power. The Constitutional Convention had added a clause, quote, no person held to service |
| 2:16.5 | or labor in one state, under the laws thereof, |
| 2:19.4 | escaping into another shall, in consequence of any law or regulation therein, be discharged |
... |
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