Fugitive Slave Clause Law and Legal Definition
Article IV, Section 2, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution is popularly known as the fugitive slave clause. The clause directs the return of runaway slaves to the state from where they came. It says “No person held to service or labor in one state, under the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be due.”
