How did the Fugitive Slave Act empower slave states under federal law?
A. Slave states had the right to take escaped slaves to court under the Fugitive Slave Act; even though the former slaves were safe in free states, they were still subject to prosecution and in danger of being legally returned to their former "masters" if they were unable to prove residency in a free state.
B. Despite the reluctance of states' rights advocates—many of whom were based in slave states—to adhere to federal law, many of these same advocates approved of the federal Fugitive Slave Act because it allowed them to pursue escaped slaves from slave states to free states and to capture them.
C. Slave states were able to send police and military authorities into free states to capture escaped slaves.
D. Slave states were able to prosecute free states in federal court for offering safe haven to escaped slaves.