The two documents I choose are Fugitive Slave Act and Uncle Toms Cabin.

I want to read
Fugitive Slave Act because Im interested on what is the Act on fugitive slaves at that time. The
Act is an intuitive historical document for me to discover what was the slaves situation and how
unfair for them at that time. The reason I choose Uncle Toms Cabin is I have heard that this
novels purpose was to response to the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act, so I want to read how
the book response to the Act after I read the Act.

Fugitive Slave Act

1. The third section required that Courts needed to add more commissioners in order to deal
with the fugitive slaves. It stood out to me because the law required to hire more and more
commissioners which mean the government was very concerned about catching fugitives.
And it even provided the jobs for people just for reclaiming the fugitive slaves.
2. In section 4, the commissioners had concurrent jurisdiction with the judges of the Circuit
and District Courts. I felt that the commissioners had much power that they could have the
concurrent jurisdiction with the judges, and it showed the position was important.
3. The section four said that the commissioner needed to give certificates to the claimants for
taking and removing the fugitive. I am surprise that the law gave the claimants right to take
the fugitive instead of giving the right to police or solider department.
4. In section 5, the law required all the marshals and deputy marshals need to follow the law, if
not, they may be fined in the sum of one thousand dollars. One thousand dollars was a big
amount at that time, so it stood out to me that the fine was strict.
5. The fifth section required the marshals and deputy marshals must be responsible for all the
loss of fugitive escape whether they were careless on it. I thought it was such strict
punishment for the marshals, and it looked like the government didnt need to be
responsible for that.
6. The section five the good citizens need to be hereby commanded to aid and assist in the
prompt and efficient execution. It really stood out to me because I didnt think the law could
require the citizens to do that. Otherwise, many citizens disagree with the slavery but the
law want them to assist the law, it was contrary to their original intention.
7. The sixth section required that in the trial or hearing under this act, the testimony of the
fugitives couldnt use as evidence. I think it was so unfair that it mean nobody will listen to
them and they only have to be judged without any appeal.
8. In section 7, the law said that the people who had obstructed or prevented the action of the
Act. Or people who tried to help the fugitives for escape. Those people would be subject to
a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, and imprisonment not exceeding six months.
The insight stood out to me because it was so unfair that it treated fugitives as criminal and
it also forced people cannot help the fugitives.
9. In section 8, the Act said that the commissioners could get 5 or 10 dollars for his services
from each case. But look back to the #5 and 9# insights, those people who didnt follow the
law would be fined up to 1000 dollars. It also showed how heavy the fine was.
10. The ninth section said that after getting the certificate, the claimant could rescue the
fugitives by force before the arrest. The observation stood out to me because it didnt like a
law. How could those claimants take action before the arrest? Also, they could use force that
was unhuman for slaves.
Uncle Toms Cabin
1. Legree knew Tom was a good slave and he seemed him as first-class hand, however, Legree
didnt like Tom without any reason. As the book said, the native antipathy of bad to good.
No matter how competent a slave was, the master wont like him because he didnt seem
them as human and he looked down them.
2. Legree wanted to trained Tom as his overseer who had hardness, but he thought Tom had
tenderness of feeling which was not hard enough to become a overseer, so he decided to
trained Tom. I thought Legree too self-righteous and he only in accordance with his own
ideas for force to change others.
3. Many of the slaves were glad to see Cassy stand on the position like them, and they laughed
on her that she got come to it finally. It stood out to me because those slaves were selfish
because they would like to see people fall to the same position like them.
4. Cassy was good on picking the cotton and she didnt not seem to care about her own
humble situation. I felt surprise that she was good at working, but I admire her clam.
5. Tom gave all the cotton to mulatto woman even though the overseers had discovered and
punished them one time. I thought he was a nice and kind people that he helped others
whatever the consequences were. He was different from other slaves.
6. After Cassy knew Tom helped the woman, she remained Tom and she gave some cotton to
him even though she still looked arrogant. I believed Cassy was also a kind woman because
she helped Tom two times and taught him the rule.
7. The overseers persuade Legree to punish Tom, Cassy and the poor woman with exaggerating
the facts. Legree thought overseers need to have hardness, but I thought those overseers
were also selfish, cunning, greedy and self-righteous.
8. Legree wanted to trained Tom as his overseers, but look at those two overseers, who were
sooty wretches, and Legree gave them the characters. It was impossible that Tom would
become overseer because he was a kind and nice person.
9. When Tom told Legree firmly that he wouldnt beat the woman, I really admired him. Even
though his master was angry and he threatened him to do that, Tom had never yielded. It
showed that he was a man who has his own rule and bottom line.
10. Legree required Tom to said his body and soul were belong to him because he used money
to buy him. However, I agreed with Tom that the slaves souls didnt belong to him. The
master didnt think the slaves are human and he treated them as animals.

Most thing I would take away was how the society treated the slaves unfairly at that time.
From the Act I knew the law didnt hear to slaves voice and protect their rights. They only
protect the masters rights and allow them use force to catch fugitive slaves before the arrest.
Even the people who helped the slaves to escape or marshals who let slaves escape got the
heavy punishment.