Oh, complete agreement that racism in 1810 was horrible. I once went looking for examples of the certificates that proved someone was free and couldn't find any online, but I would expect there was a considerable counterfeiting business in them.

However, I suspect you're exaggerating when you say "slave catchers would regularly capture black, non-slaves and force them into slavery". If it happened regularly, 12 Years A Slave would've had no impact—it was a bestseller in its day. The Old South was obsessed with the legal niceties of slavery. It was essential to rationalizing their system.