[HandyDandy]

Thank you for that contribution. "Avenge the patriotic gore"

A few decades ago I read the book "Patriotic Gore" by Edmund Wilson. Now I know where the title came from.

[Smokin' Joe]

Rioting in Baltimore when the Mass. and Penna. Militias marched into (invaded) Maryland. Not low lifes, but businessmen were throwing bricks and cobblestones at the invading troops.

[Smokin' Joe]

Rioting in Baltimore when the Mass. and Penna. Militias marched into (invaded) Maryland. Not low lifes, but businessmen were throwing bricks and cobblestones at the invading troops.

[rockrr]

I believe that the way they perceive it is that Article 1, Section 9:

The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person.

set the state by recognizing the existence of "such persons" while setting a timeline for the eventual prohibition of further importations.

Then Article 4, Section 2, Clause 3 (also known as the "Interstate Rendition Clause" or "Fugitive Slave Clause:) created the sanction:

No Person held to Service or Labour 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 Labour, but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due.

You are correct that the weasel-words do more to merely note the presence of a condition rather than specifically enumerate a right, but (as I said) this is my understanding of how it is interpreted.