this post was submitted on 16 Aug 2026
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How come slaves in the US didn't just walk off the farm while their "owner" was asleep? Or at the very least go in and kill the prick? (lemmy.world)
submitted 2 days ago by Patnou@lemmy.world to c/askhistorians@lemmy.world
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[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 2 days ago

If all else fails, literally the entire state apparatus will hunt you to the end of their jurisdiction and beyond and make an example of your ass.

And that jurisdiction, at the time of the start of the a Civil War, was the entire United States, including free states. That was what the Fugitive Slave Act was all about, and it was a major contributor to the beginning of the war.