white-slave traffic: see prostitution.

fugitive slave laws, in U.S. history, the federal acts of 1793 and 1850 providing for the return between states of escaped black slaves. Similar laws existing in both North and South in colonial days applied also to white indentured servants and to Native American slaves. As slavery was abolished in the Northern states, the 1793 law was loosely enforced, to the great irritation of the South, and as abolitionist sentiment developed, organized efforts to circumvent the law took form in the Underground Railroad. Many Northern states also passed personal-liberty laws that allowed fugitives a jury trial, and others passed laws forbidding state officials to help capture alleged fugitive slaves or to lodge them in state jails. As a concession to the South a second and more rigorous fugitive slave law was passed as part of the Compromise of 1850. By it "all good citizens" were "commanded to aid and assist [federal marshals and their deputies] in the prompt and efficient execution of this law," and heavy penalties were imposed upon anyone who assisted slaves to escape from bondage. When apprehended, an alleged fugitive was taken before a federal court or commissioner. He was denied a jury trial and his testimony was not admitted, while the statement of the master claiming ownership, even though absent, was taken as the main evidence. The law was so weighted against the fugitives that many Northerners, formerly unconcerned, were now aroused to opposition. New personal-liberty laws contradicting the legislation of 1850 (and described, with some reason, by Southerners as equivalent to South Carolina's notorious ordinance of nullification) were passed in most of the Northern states. Abolitionists fearlessly defied the 1850 act, often mobbing federal officials in attempts to rescue fugitives. In Boston, for instance, the "good citizens," including some of the foremost Brahmins, stormed the federal courthouse, but failed to free the escaped Virginia slave Anthony Burns; moreover, it was thought expedient to have 1,100 soldiers guard him when he was marched aboard ship for his return to bondage. In Lancaster co., Pa., a riot broke out when a federal official ordered Quaker bystanders to help catch a runaway; the Quakers were prosecuted, but not convicted. Other notable fugitive-slave cases arose in Northern courts, and the trials further stirred up public opinion both North and South. The whole dispute, combined with the question of the extension of slavery into the territories, served to set the two sections at each other's throats. The actions of Northern states in nullifying the fugitive slave laws or rendering "useless any attempt to execute them" were cited (Dec. 24, 1860) by South Carolina as one cause for secession. Both acts were finally repealed by Congress on June 28, 1864.

Slave dynasty: see Delhi Sultanate.

Slave Coast, name given by European traders to the coast bordering the Bight of Benin on the Gulf of Guinea, W Africa. It was the principal source of slaves from W Africa from the 16th cent. to the mid-19th cent.

Slave, river, c.310 mi (500 km) long, Northwest Territories, Canada. It comprises the middle sections of the Mackenzie River system. The river channels the waters of Lake Athabasca and the Peace River into Great Slave Lake at Fort Resolution. It is navigable for steamers except for the rapids between Fort Fitzgerald and Fort Smith, where it breaks through the Cariboo Hills. There is a wagon road portage (16 mi/26 km long) around the rapids.

Lesser Slave Lake, 60 mi (97 km) long and from 3 to 10 mi (4.8-16 km) wide, central Alta., Canada, NW of Edmonton. It drains E into the Athabasca River by the Lesser Slave River. In addition to commercial fishing, there is lumbering and farming on its shores.

Great Slave Lake, second largest lake of Canada, c.10,980 sq mi (28,400 sq km), Northwest Territories, named for the Slave (Dogrib), a tribe of Native Americans. It is c.300 mi (480 km) long and from 12 to 68 mi (19-109 km) wide and is the deepest lake (2,015 ft/614 m) of North America. The Hay and Slave rivers are its chief tributaries; it is drained by the Mackenzie River. The western shores are wooded, but the long east and north arms reach into tundralike country. Samuel Hearne, a British fur trader, explored the lake in 1771. Gold was discovered in the 1930s on the northern shore, and the town of Yellowknife was established as a mining center. The area is still important for gold mining. The lake has commercial fisheries. Fort Providence, Hay River, and Fort Resolution are the chief towns on the lake.

Account of the life, or a major portion of the life, of a fugitive or former slave, either written or orally related by the slave himself or herself. A Narrative of the Uncommon Sufferings and Surprising Deliverance of Briton Hammon, a Negro Man (1760) is often considered the first example. The first slave narrative to become an international best-seller was the two-volume Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African (1789), but evidence turned up at the outset of the 21st century suggests that the author was born in South Carolina rather than Africa—i.e., that at least part of the work is not autobiographical. The major period of slave narratives was 1830–60. Some were factual autobiographies, while others were influenced or sensationalized by the writer's desire to arouse sympathy for the abolitionist cause. The genre reached its height with the autobiography of Frederick Douglass (1845). In the 20th century, documentary narratives were compiled from recorded interviews with former slaves.

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Lake, central Alberta, Canada. Located northwest of Edmonton and south of Great Slave Lake, it occupies an area of 451 sq mi (1,168 sq km) and drains into the Athabasca River via the Lesser Slave River. Its name refers to the Slave (Dogrib) Indians, who once inhabited its shores.

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Lake, south-central Northwest Territories, Canada. Named for the Slave Indians, it is fed by several rivers, including the Slave, and drained by the Mackenzie River into the Arctic Ocean. The lake, with an area of 11,031 sq mi (28,570 sq km), is the fifth largest in North America. It is 300 mi (500 km) long and 30–140 mi (50–225 km) wide, with a maximum depth of more than 2,000 ft (600 m). While supporting a fishing industry, the lake is an integral part of the Mackenzie River waterway.

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