The Compromise Of The Civil War

As tensions between the North and the South rose on the issues of slavery and states’ rights, numerous compromises were proposed to ease the conflict. Such compromises included the Missouri Compromise, the Compromise of 1850, and the Crittenden Compromise. These compromises had intentions of defining where slavery was permitted and clarifying states’ rights. They were only temporary fixes to a more pressing issue. Between the Missouri Compromise and the Crittenden Compromise, a series of events changed the political atmosphere of the United States and prevented any more compromises on the institution of slavery from being passed.

The compromise of 1850 was a settlement on a series of issues plaguing the unity of the states. The primary issue to address was the institution of slavery, which was causing much dissension between the north and the south. Additional items to be addressed were territory issues and to prevent secession by the south. Henry Clay stepped forward to present a compromise, which had Congress in an eight-month discussion known as the “Great Debate”. As a result of the proposal, there were strong oppositions. One outspoken person who opposed the proposal was John C Calhoun. Calhoun was an intellectual southern politician, political philosopher and a proponent to the protection of Southern interests. He was an advocate for states’ rights and

This new state created a permanent imbalance of power in the senate because there were now more free states than there were slave states. This ticked off the South because it meant it would be easier to pass anti-slavery legislation. Another problem solved and worsened by the Compromise of 1850 was the amount of land to be given to New Mexico, and later Oklahoma, from Texas after the Mexican War. This issue was solved by cutting off the border at the Nueces River instead of at the Rio Grande which effectively took away a large sum of land from Texas and made it become a free state. In return for the land, Texas was paid 10 million dollars . Despite this, the people in Texas were upset and some of them threatened secession. If President Taylor hadn't died, the U.S. most likely would have gone to war much earlier as he was threatening to send troops into Texas. The South realized that it had lost important territory when it lost

There has been much debate as to whether the Civil War could have been avoided or not. The Evansville Daily Journal argues that the Civil War was inevitable, but Alexander Stephens disagrees and proposes that the war could have been avoided. Stephen’s argument is superior to the Evansville Daily Journal one because it objectively talks about the recent changes in the United States, explains the different views between the North and South, and tries to convince people that a war is not necessary.

In early 1850, the legendary statesman and orator, Daniel Webster, convened with Henry Clay of Kentucky to accumulate approval for Clay’s plan to conserve the Union from itself. This Compromise, appropriately recognized as the Compromise of 1850, guaranteed to address five principal issues at the time. The foremost, was the recognition of California as a free state. At the time, California had not yet amalgamated with the United States, leaving its situation questionable. Next, was the acknowledgement of both New Mexico and Ohio as unresolved states, to refrain from biasing the amount of slave and free states and subsequently, annulling the Wilmot Proviso. As expected, the two Northern politicians wished to expel slave exchange from the prestigious United States capital of the District of Columbia. However, even as Northern men, the Compromise included one last circumstance; a harsher enactment of the Fugitive Slave Law, guaranteeing runaway slaves in the North an unfortunate return to slavery, so as to gain the approval of slave owners and abolitionists

On January 29, 1850, the 70-year-old Clay presented the compromise. For eight months members of Congress, led by Clay, Daniel Webster, Senator from Massachusetts, and John C. Calhoun, senator from South Carolina, debated the compromise. At first, Clay introduced an omnibus bill covering these measures. Calhoun attacked the plan and

The Compromise of 1850 was a desperate attempt to keep the southern states from seceding from the United States of America. While the goal was to keep the south from seceding, the new laws actually created more tension than it solved. Since the division in America over slave ownership had been holding a delicate balance with the states on both sides, the North and the South. When California petitioned to join the Union in 1849 as a free state, that delicate balance tipped and the conflict once again erupted. The Compromise consisted of 5 laws, admitting California as a free state, creating Utah and New Mexico territories with the question of slavery in each is determined by popular sovereignty, settling a Texas-New Mexico boundary dispute in the former’s favor, ending the slave trade in Washington D.C. and making it easier for southerners to recover fugitive slaves (History).

The Civil War that occurred was one of the darkest times in our history as a country. It was a time where there was a complete breakdown of social and political systems. Hundreds of thousands were killed and hundreds of thousands more were aversely affected. However, it was also a time of remembrance and significant moral progress. It is remembered as the turning point in American History and would be the foundation for the Civil Rights movement many years later.

“I know no South, no North, no East, no West, to which I owe any allegiance, The Union, sir, is my country” - Henry Clay (United States History). The Compromise of 1850 was once considered despising, loathing, and abhorring. This would become altered, as it would turn out to be one of the greatest compromises in the United States and would make its mark in history. The Compromise of 1850 adopted the Fugitive Slave Act and the reason for California statehood. The compromise attempted to avoid a crisis between the North and the South, with the assistance of Henry Clay and his colleagues. The document came to be with three main ideas: significance, conflict, and compromise. The Compromise of 1850, proposed by Henry Clay, dealt with disputes

As a result of the Compromise of 1850, California was admitted as a free state, the territory disputed between Texas and New Mexico was surrendered to New Mexico, the slave trade was abolished in the District of Columbia, the Mexican Cession was open to popular sovereignty, and a stronger Fugitive Slave Law was enacted. In a speech to the Senate on March 7, 1850, Senator Daniel Webster stated his opinion that the North is wrong for not obeying the Fugitive Slave Law and that succession is amiss [Document D].The tone of Webster’s speech is objective as he attempts to see both sides- the North and the South. Webster is unbiased because as a Northern man, he agrees with the South. The peace was only temporary. The Fugitive Slave Law upset Northerners and the Underground Railroad became more active, peaking between 1850 and 1860. Massachusetts went so far as to making it a penal offense for a state official to enforce the act. The act also brought the issue of slavery into the limelight before the entire nation. In fact, by 1858, there was no avoiding the subject of slavery. During the Lincoln-Douglass Debates in a speech at Alton, Illinois on October 15, 1858, Abraham Lincoln stated that slavery was no longer just a political issue [Document G]. Slavery was splitting the nation and during the Second Great Awakening, even churches split over the issue. Lincoln’s speech is

The Compromise of 1850 was the last compromise between Northern and Southern political factions before the civil war. Although Steven Douglass, the man instrumental in getting the bill to pass Congress, designed it to ease sectional tensions, it led the way for a series of political events that would change America’s history. The acceptance of popular sovereignty which was a key component of the 1850 Compromise open the interpretation of former compromises, specify the Missouri Compromise of 1820 which stated that all states over the 36-30 line would be considered free. Northern Democratic senator Steven Douglass took the acceptance of the Compromise of 1850 as an acceptance of popular sovereignty and applied it to his Kansas- Nebraska

Henry Clay, who had left retirement and was filling in as a congressperson from Kentucky, set up together a gathering of five separate bills as an "omnibus bill" which wound up noticeably known as the Compromise of 1850. Senator Henry Clay was the “compromise” of the whole situation. He was best known as “the Great Compromiser” for working out the Missouri Compromise. He was ill and sick but also wanted to search for an agreement through the South and North. Before he became a senator he was a lawyer. He was also a young statesman. In 1811 he was elected House of Representatives. He eventually served as the Speaker of the House.

In 1850, Senator Henry Clay proposed a Compromise. One of the rules in this agreement was to enforce a new fugitive slave law. This made everyone in the North like sheriffs as they are required to capture runaway slaves and bring them back to their owner. Keeping in mind that most people in the North comprised of abolitionists and free slave, this created an even greater tension. People in the North would begin becoming criminals as they ignored this injustice law. The Northerners were angry as the law catered more for the North rather than their own beliefs, making the tensions between the North and South

The Civil War is known as a turning point in America, the road to ending slavery, while first turning a nation against each other.

The Compromise of 1850 was constructed by Henry Clay in desire to keep the nation from a Civil War. These documents failed and slowly began to divide the nation into two sections, proslavery and antislavery states. The reason this document was produced was because of the ongoing conflicts over slavery. This is a significant part in history because this compromise moved the country towards the Civil War. It had brought conflict because it seemingly caused more riots throughout the nation. However, it also had created compromise because their initial plan was to balance the amount of free states and slave states and it had taken away the Civil War from happening for ten years.