What led up to the event: Henry Clay, U.S. senator from Kentucky, was determined to find a solution to these several issues. In 1820, he had resolved a fiery debate over the spread of slavery with his Missouri Compromise. Now, thirty years later, the matter surfaced again within the walls of the Capitol. But this time the stakes were higher -- nothing less than keeping the Union together. There were several points at issue:
The event: On January 29, 1850, the 70-year-old Clay presented a 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. With the help of Stephen Douglas, a young Democrat from Illinois, a series of bills that would make up the compromise were ushered through Congress. In June, at the Nashville Convention, delegates from nine Southern states gathered and agreed to defend the rights of slaveholders and to adopt what they considered a moderate position by extending the 36° 30° dividing line of the Missouri Compromise, actions rendered of little value by the Compromise of 1850 and, later, by the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Divisions over slavery, in territory gained in the Mexican-American War (1846-48), were resolved in the Compromise of 1850. The Compromise of 1850 was a series of five bills that were intended to stave off sectional strife. It passed during Millard Fillmore's presidency. Its goal was to deal with the spread of slavery to territories in order to keep northern and southern interests in balance. Here is a summary of the five bills:
The Impact: The Compromise of 1850 accomplished what it set out to do -- it kept the nation united -- but the solution was only temporary. Over the following decade the country's citizens became further divided over the issue of slavery. The rift would continue to grow until the nation itself divided. Although the Compromise of 1850 passed, it couldn't please everyone for long. The Compromise of 1850 was key in delaying the start of the Civil War until 1861.
- The United States had recently acquired a vast territory -- the result of its war with Mexico. Should the territory allow slavery, or should it be declared free? Or maybe the inhabitants should be allowed to choose for themselves?
- California -- a territory that had grown tremendously with the gold rush of 1849, had recently petitioned Congress to enter the Union as a free state. Should this be allowed? Ever since the Missouri Compromise, the balance between slave states and free states had been maintained; any proposal that threatened this balance would almost certainly not win approval.
- There was a dispute over land: Texas claimed that its territory extended all the way to Santa Fe.
- Finally, there was Washington, D.C. Not only did the nation's capital allow slavery, it was home to the largest slave market in North America.
The event: On January 29, 1850, the 70-year-old Clay presented a 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. With the help of Stephen Douglas, a young Democrat from Illinois, a series of bills that would make up the compromise were ushered through Congress. In June, at the Nashville Convention, delegates from nine Southern states gathered and agreed to defend the rights of slaveholders and to adopt what they considered a moderate position by extending the 36° 30° dividing line of the Missouri Compromise, actions rendered of little value by the Compromise of 1850 and, later, by the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Divisions over slavery, in territory gained in the Mexican-American War (1846-48), were resolved in the Compromise of 1850. The Compromise of 1850 was a series of five bills that were intended to stave off sectional strife. It passed during Millard Fillmore's presidency. Its goal was to deal with the spread of slavery to territories in order to keep northern and southern interests in balance. Here is a summary of the five bills:
- California was entered as a free state.
- New Mexico and Utah were each allowed to use popular sovereignty to decide the issue of slavery. In other words, the people would pick whether the states would be free or slave.
- The Republic of Texas gave up lands that it claimed in present day New Mexico and received $10 million to pay its debt to Mexico.
- The slave trade was abolished in the District of Columbia.
- The Fugitive Slave Act made any federal official who did not arrest a runaway slave liable to pay a fine. This was the most controversial part of the Compromise of 1850 and caused many abolitionists to increase their efforts against slavery.
The Impact: The Compromise of 1850 accomplished what it set out to do -- it kept the nation united -- but the solution was only temporary. Over the following decade the country's citizens became further divided over the issue of slavery. The rift would continue to grow until the nation itself divided. Although the Compromise of 1850 passed, it couldn't please everyone for long. The Compromise of 1850 was key in delaying the start of the Civil War until 1861.