The constitution of the United States of America having recognized slavery, or "service," as it was termed, provided that persons held to service or labor in one State, under the laws thereof, and escaping into another, should be delivered up, on claim of the party to whom such service or labor might be due. An act passed by congress in 1793, providing for the reclamation of fugitives, was superseded by a more stringent act in 1850, containing many obnoxious provisions; a larger fee, for instance, was paid to the judicial officer when the person arrested was adjudged to be a slave than when he was declared free; and all citizens were required, when called upon, to render the officers personal assistance in the performance of their duties. Any assistance rendered to a fugitive, or obstruction offered to his arrest was penal, and many persons were remanded under the act; but the increased hostility to slavery which it engendered actually led to assistance being given in a larger number of escapes than ever before, mainly through the organization known as the "underground railroad." The act was repealed after the outbreak of the civil war; and, since slaver)" has been abolished, the constitutional provision has lost all importance.