Which action contained a controversial fugitive slave provision?

Which action contained a controversial fugitive slave provision?

• A. Compromise of 1850
• B. Missouri Compromise
• C. Kansas-Nebraska Act
• D. Three-Fifths Compromise

Answer: (A)

This question tests recognition that the Fugitive Slave Act was tied to a specific political package designed to settle sectional tensions. The Compromise of 1850 included a stringent fugitive slave provision—the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850—which required help from northern officials to capture and return escaped enslaved people and limited protections for those captured. That provision sparked fierce opposition in the North and intensified national tensions over slavery, making it the most controversial element among the options. The Missouri Compromise settled a balance between free and slave states earlier and drew a line dividing free and slave territories, but it did not include a fugitive slave provision. The Kansas-Nebraska Act introduced popular sovereignty to decide slavery in new territories and led to violence, yet it did not establish a federal fugitive slave law. The Three-Fifths Compromise was an 18th-century constitutional rule about counting enslaved people for representation and taxation, not about fugitives.

This question tests recognition that the Fugitive Slave Act was tied to a specific political package designed to settle sectional tensions. The Compromise of 1850 included a stringent fugitive slave provision—the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850—which required help from northern officials to capture and return escaped enslaved people and limited protections for those captured. That provision sparked fierce opposition in the North and intensified national tensions over slavery, making it the most controversial element among the options.

The Missouri Compromise settled a balance between free and slave states earlier and drew a line dividing free and slave territories, but it did not include a fugitive slave provision. The Kansas-Nebraska Act introduced popular sovereignty to decide slavery in new territories and led to violence, yet it did not establish a federal fugitive slave law. The Three-Fifths Compromise was an 18th-century constitutional rule about counting enslaved people for representation and taxation, not about fugitives.