<P> After 1840, the black population of rural Cass County, Michigan, grew rapidly as families were attracted by white defiance of discriminatory laws, by numerous highly supportive Quakers, and by low - priced land . Free and runaway blacks found Cass County a haven . Their good fortune attracted the attention of southern slaveholders . In 1847 and 1849, planters from Bourbon and Boone counties in northern Kentucky led raids into Cass County to recapture runaway slaves . The raids failed but the situation contributed to Southern demands in 1850 for passage of the strengthened Fugitive Slave Act . </P> <P> Southern politicians often exaggerated the number of escaped slaves and often blamed escapes on Northerners interfering with Southern property rights . Since there was no way to confirm the number of runaway slaves, Congress enacted stricter laws regarding fugitive slaves in the United States . </P> <P> In response to the weakening of the original fugitive slave act, the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 penalized officials who did not arrest an alleged runaway slave, and made them liable to a fine of $1,000 (about $29,000 in present - day value). Law - enforcement officials everywhere were required to arrest people suspected of being a runaway slave on as little as a claimant's sworn testimony of ownership . The suspected slave could not ask for a jury trial or testify on his or her own behalf . In addition, any person aiding a runaway slave by providing food or shelter was subject to six months' imprisonment and a $1,000 fine . Officers who captured a fugitive slave were entitled to a bonus or promotion for their work . </P> <P> Slave owners needed only to supply an affidavit to a Federal marshal to capture an escaped slave . Since a suspected slave was not eligible for a trial, the law resulted in the kidnapping and conscription of free blacks into slavery, as suspected fugitive slaves had no rights in court and could not defend themselves against accusations . </P>

As a result of the revised fugitive slave law in the compromise of 1850 it became
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