http://www.oyez.org/cases/1792-1850/1847/ U.S. Supreme Court Decisions, presented by The Oyez Project (www.oyez.org) en-us <p>Is the Fugitive Slave Law unconstitutional because the Constitution confers to Congress no power over the subject?</p><p>The Fugitive Slave Law was constitutional. Slavery remained a matter for the states individually to decide. Southern participation in the Union imposed a promise on the Constitution protecting the institution of slavery. There was no "higher law" that justified striking down a constitutionally permissible statute.</p> http://www.oyez.org/cases/1792-1850/1847/1847_0/