The Compromism Over the Fugitive Slave Clause

The constitution guaranteed in an unamendable way that for 20 years, slaves could still be imported. After that, it would be up to congress to determine whether the slave trade would be ended. The fugitive slave clause of the constitution specified that if enslaved people were to flee from slave states in the south to free states in the north, theywould be returned to their owners. Even hamilton himself, who was perhaps not as fully committed to abolition as lyn manuel miranda would have us think, actively defended this compromise.