BEVERLY MORGAN-WELCH

Incredibly, the judges received a higher fee if they found that an accused Negro was a fugitive slave and must be returned, than if he found that it was a case of mistaken identity or the laws of the northern state allowed mandated freedom. Despite the bias, the moral issue was so profound that many Northern judges refused to return fugitive slaves, even after the Fugitive Slave Act.

Incredibly, the judges received a higher fee if they found that an accused Negro was a fugitive slave and must be returned, than if he found that it was a case of mistaken identity or the laws of the northern state allowed mandated freedom. Despite the bias, the moral issue was so profound that many Northern judges refused to return fugitive slaves, even after the Fugitive Slave Act.