The hardships imposed by this atrocious and shameless law were cruel and shocking, and yet only a few of all the fugitives of the Northern States were returned to slavery under its infamously wicked provisions.
Douglass observes that despite the cruel and shocking nature of the Fugitive Slave Act, it was largely ineffective in returning many fugitives to slavery.
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Father he might be, and not be husband, and could sell his own child without incurring reproach, if in its veins coursed one drop of African blood.
I wished it was possible I could remain small all my life, knowing that the sooner I grew large the shorter would be my time to remain with them.
It was in the air, and men breathed it and were permeated by it, often when they were quite unconscious of its presence.
It had no interest in recognizing or preserving any of the ties that bind families together or to their homes.