The political issues that dominated U.S politics in the 1850’s was the Compromise of 1850, The Fugitive Slave Act, and popular sovereignty, dominated U.S politics. Conflicts between southern states and northern states affected U.S society because of equality, race, class, and unity between the states. In the 1850’s political issues occurred during the civil war to avoid the conflicts between slavery and the north. For instance, in the textbook, “The Americans” by Holt Dougal, states that, “To satisfy the North, the compromise provided that California be admitted to the union as a free state. To satisfy the South, the compromise proposed a new and more effective fugitive slave law (307)”. The quote demonstrates how the compromise of 1850 showed ways to keep the nation together between the north and the south for stronger, central government ideas, and states rights. In addition there were 5 parts that came with the compromise of 1850. The first being California. California as a free state from the Mexico session, which mean California would gain advantage from the senate because they outnumbered the slave state by one. Second is the slave trade. The slave trade was abolished in DC because northerners though it was revolting for human beings to be sold into slavery in DC, although slavery was still going on. Third is popular sovereignty, meaning those living in Utah and New Mexico, land gained from Mexican cession could decide the status of slavery. Fourth is, more strict
The Compromise of 1850 includes five bills passed by congress to attempt to keep balance. This compromised contained key points to end the boundary dispute with the land gained in the Mexican-American war. In which the addition of California would create an imbalance that would happen if added as a free state. Also the inclusion of the borders between Texas and Mexico. So congress solved the issue of addition of a free state with the Fugitive Slave Act to please southerners in consequence this gave rise to more hostility between the North and South .
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, as it was called, was a bundle of legislation that everyone could agree on. First, congressmen agreed that California would be admitted to the Union as a free state (Utah was not admitted because the Mormons refused to give up the practice of polygamy). The fate of slavery in the other territories, though, would be determined by popular sovereignty. Next, the slave trade (though not slavery itself) was banned in Washington, D.C. Additionally, Texas had to give up some of its land to form the New Mexican territory in exchange for a cancellation of debts owed to the federal government. Finally, Congress agreed to pass a newer and tougher Fugitive Slave Act to enforce the return of escaped slaves to the South.
The Territories of New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah would temporarily remain neutral to the position of a free state or a slave. Slave trade would be abolished in the District of Columbia (not slavery). The Compromise stated that California would be admitted as a free state and last, that the Fugitive Slave Act should be passed. I think the Compromise of 1850 benefited the South more than the North because although California was turned into a free state, because of the establishment of the Fugitive Slave Act that allowed Southern and Northern to capture and sometimes send them down South. In the North, abolitionist was angered and, in fact more determine, after the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act, to bring an end to slavery because African Americans were even more
The Compromise of 1850 had five laws regarding slavery and conflict between the north and south passed in September, 1850. The five laws that were passed include California being admitted as a free state, upholding the popular sovereignty in New Mexico and Utah, banning slave trade in Washington D.C. (because it doesn’t look good in the nation’s capital), fugitive slave act and, settling the Texas and New Mexico border dispute. This compromise allowed issues to get sorted out in a fair way. The north benefited by receiving California as a free state and no more slave trade in
All of this new land was a major benefactor to the Market Revolution and widespread commerce, but it left a lot of problems regarding slavery. Thus, The Compromise of 1850 was passed. This act admitted California as a free state and abolished slave trade in the nation’s capital to please northerners. It also Installed the Fugitive Slave Act and formed a territorial government in the west with no slavery restrictions for southerners. This compromise was also referred to as the “Armistice of 1850” because it resolved issues for at least a little bit.
Politically, slavery became one of those hot topic issues that politicians usually like to avoid speaking about because the country was divided into two different view points, pro-slavery and anti-slavery, and politicians wanted to be in everyone’s good graces to win come election time. However, when the argument came about weather or not newly inducted states could ban slavery or not, tensions rose in the government. This led to the Compromise of 1850, which allowed for stricter fugitive laws, but allowed California to be free, and New Mexico and Utah to make their decision based on popular sovereignty (the idea that the people of that state should choose). Politically, slavery left a whole mess of confusion for the new states. For example, in the Kansas- Nebraska act a railroad was to be built crossing over two new territories (Kansas and Nebraska) that allowed
1850’s southern and Northern states had different views of the union Northern didn’t want slave states but the Southern state wants slave states. The Northern and Southern States also fought over economics and social differences but Northern States got thing off of factories and Southern states had the slaves pick their crops and etc . And they fought over government power south thought that federal government should have more power , That's how the civil rights started and the southern states secede from the union .
After working tirelessly to set forth his Compromise, Henry Clay’s Compromise finally became a law in 1850. Initially, the Compromise of 1850 slit up guidelines about slavery for the North and South. In the North, CA was a free state, the slave trade was prohibited in Wash. DC, and unrelated to slavery, TX lost their boundary conflict with NM. In the South, slaveholding was permitted in Wash. DC, and the creation of the Fugitive slave act. The fugitive slave act gave federal support to slave catchers. Although the N and S both benefitted from the compromise, the North technically gained more out of it. The Compromise of 1850 was significant because it gave the South the Fugitive slave law, and gave the North a new free state, CA—everybody wins!
The Compromise of 1850 had many upsides to it. Among them is that it made slave trade legal but slavery was not. Of course, there were mixed emotions about the whole situation. Also California was admitted to the Union which made a lot of people content. This benefitted the government in many ways such as creating a more unified society. The compromise made it so people did not have to fear for who they were. Especially if you were black in the North or South, but that would soon change in the South because of the hatred between the two races.
In efforts to better understand the Civil War most historians examine the Sectional Crisis and the Compromise of 1850 in the decades leading up to the worst years in American History. Some historians prefer to focus on the underlying theme of the war, others tightly examine individual leaders, events, and political parties, connecting them all together like puzzle pieces to define the years prior to the war. Despite the contrasting views, it is clear to realize the constant prevailing issues of the Antebellum Period, the Sectional Crisis and the Compromise of 1850. In particular, the Compromise of 1850 is deceivingly taught as only establishing 3 pivotal elements: the status of slavery in future territories (popular sovereignty), California statehood, and the fugitive slave law. Granted these elements of the compromise provide a great amount of controversy long after their birth, but one element of the compromise perceives to fail in obtaining recognition. The Texas-New Mexico boundary resolution seems to find itself fading away from its relevancy to the civil war, shadowed by more prominent issues regarding the stability of the Union. Abandoning the traditional teaching of the compromise, the Texas-New Mexico border decision figuratively and literally changed the identity of Texas. This was the long awaited result caused by deep rooted social and political issues dating back to the Texas Revolution.
1. The bill of 1846, was most likely the greatest achievement of militaristic rule. However the Wilmot Proviso, giving millions of dollars for negotiating,is the encompassment of the U.S urge for bureaucratic and calm compromise lacking the call of war, the Wilmot Proviso had no place in the bill of 1846. The Proviso stated that any territory from Mexico should be a free state, and should have slavery banned. Unfortunately it was not passed because it was blatantly anti-South and southern senators were fearful of their plantations and slaves. The Missouri Compromise quelled government panic with the slave issue, but had a different outcome in California. Split it half, the settlers wanted to be one whole state. Popular sovereignty was an ideology that the individual areas should decide whether or not slavery was beneficial or not. This only furthered sectional divide. President Taylor 's compromise (Henry Clay) was a temporary fix; California would be admitted as a free state. Mallon Zachary Taylor wanted to have California admitted as a free state. The South hated the idea of another free state. The fugitive slave law was a problem for the North. Basically, it said that anyone accused of being a slave was guilty. This forced the North to cooperate with Slavery, even though they didn 't want to.
The 1850s were a time of attempted compromise when compromise was no longer possible. The Union was becoming divided through many events in the time leading into the Civil War. The North and South had too many hostilities to account for. Socially, the North and the South could not stand what the other would do or say with anything. Politically, the government was completely divided and undecided. And economically, the South began to prosper as the North began to struggle. Thus, during the 1850s, socially, politically, and economically there was not any compromise that could fix the problems beginning to occur.
The compromises merely worked, and with the passing of time, tensions rose more between the sections, thus making these compromises less and less effective. The Compromise of 1850 enraged both the North and the South. When California was annexed, it was assigned to become a free state and the South did not appeal to that because the land boundaries that was made by the Missouri Compromise was large. Another part of this compromise that angered Southerners was that slave trade was banned in Washington D.C. The Fugitive Slave Law, which was a part of the Compromise of 1850 angered the North, because it allowed bounty hunters to hunt down slaves and the people who helped them to hide. Also, Northerners rejected this because they rejected Popular Sovereignty, which created possibilities of having slavery in any Northern states.
During the time around 1850, tensions were rising on the issue of slavery between the North and the South. New states were being admitted to the United States, but the decisions to make them a free state or a slave state were what really mattered. As an example, California was admitted to the Union as a free state, and this angered the south very much because slavery was a very important factor to the South's economy. The Compromise of 1850 was developed to help soothe the tensions on each side. This Compromise had several provisions: California was admitted to the Union as a free state; the territories of New Mexico and Utah were created without restrictions of slavery; the slave trade was abolished in Washington, D.C.; Congress passed a stricter fugitive slave law. This compromise showed just how important slavery was to each side, and it gives us a good idea of why it could be important as one of their goals during the Civil War. With slavery in mind, it brought about ideas of succession to the South. Because the South was scared of Lincoln abolishing slavery, they thought it would be a wise decision to secede from the Union. In fact, Lincoln had no plans of abolishing slavery, but stated that it should not spread to the territories. The South basically misunderstood and decided to secede anyway. The reason slavery was so important to the South, and lead them to break apart from the Union was that it