A lot more compassionate than the American one…

The struggle between the Southern slave-holding states and the Northern mostly free states reached a boiling point in the mid-19th century before the start of the Civil War. As a last act of desperation to try to hold the Union together, Stephen Douglas and Henry Clay helped pass the Compromise of 1850. One part of the Compromise was the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Under this act, all law enforcement in both Northern and Southern states were required to return escaped slaves to their owners. The Act was meant to shore up the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793, which had been weakened by Northern states refusal to enforce the law.

In 1854, the Wisconsin Supreme Court held that a local abolitionist could not be arrested for violating the act. The United States Supreme Court overruled the Wisconsin Supreme Court in Ableman v. Booth. Justice Taney, who also authored the infamous Dred Scott decision that held that slaves had no rights under the Constitution, wrote the majority opinion. Justice Taney clearly did not read chapter 23 of Deuteronomy:

You shall not turn over to the master a slave who seeks refuge with you from that master (verse 16).  

From a modern perspective, the Torah has a complicated connection to slavery. Slavery, a universal practice in ancient times, was allowed, but it was also highly legislated. There are different categories of slaves, Israelite and gentile, certain slaves are restricted from working for more than six years, a slave is granted certain protected rights in ones household, an injured slave must be set free, etc. Given what transpired in 1858, verse 16 must have been quite controversial in ancient Canaan. But the Torah is clear: all escaped slaves must be freed.