The Fugitive Slave Act wasn’t just a law—it was a declaration that Black freedom had limits, even in so-called “free” states. It let slave catchers operate with impunity, turning neighbors into bounty hunters and courtrooms into pipelines back to bondage. Free Black folks had to watch their backs, because the color of your skin was enough to get you dragged south with no questions asked. This law criminalized escape, criminalized survival, and wrapped it all in the language of property rights. It didn’t just uphold slavery—it spread its reach into every corner of the country. And the system that enforced it? Still echoes today. Different names, same blueprint.