The Fugitive slave laws were not intended to support or deny personal liberty...they were about protecting property rights of individuals. Slaves were not citizens and it was illegal for freed black people to live in 5 Northern states or Mississippi. The oppression of white Northerners in regards to the Fugitive Slave Laws were hardly comparable to the murder, pillaging and subrogation of Southerners (all races) in the 1860's and 1870's.

Which reminds me of the thread topic: The majority of South Carolinians were not interested in war, their intent was a peaceful independence. Do you have documentation to support otherwise?