The Fugitive Slave Act was a very controversial law when it was passed. In 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act was a federal law that stated that fugitive slaves must be captured and returned to their owner. If anyone were to interfere and help a runaway slave, there would be severe punishments for those who interfere. The Fugitive Slave Act denied slaves the right to trial by jury, and any citizens who aided slaves were fined. This act had negative consequences in the free states. In The Slave Catchers, the author informs readers that the 1850 law mandated “the possibility of free negroes being kidnapped and sold into slavery was a constant threat” (Campbell 175). Hunters or slave holders would go to the free states and enslave free black men. One victim of the Fugitive Slave Act was Northup. Northup was a musician. He was mistaken for a runaway slave and was sold into slavery for twelve years. This act drove the abolitionist crazy because the federal government was so quick to enforce this law. They believed that if the government could enforce this law so quickly, other slave laws could be enforced as well. The northerners tried in every way to circumvent this law and bypass it. They would aid runaway slaves through various methods, one of the most famous known as The Underground Railroad. For slaves who began a new life in the North before the law was enacted, this meant