The Controversies on the Compromise of 1850
On January 29, 1850, Senator Henry Clay proposed the Compromise of 1850. One of Henry Clay’s major supporters on the compromise was Stephen Douglas. The compromise was intended to resolve the territories and slaveries from the Mexican-American War. There were disputes between the north and south. The northern states wanted the new territories won from the Mexican-American War to be slave free, but southern states wanted slavery in the new territories. The compromise of 1850 consisted of five different laws to help settle the controversial disputes concerning slavery. The Compromise of 1850 temporarily helped to resolve controversial issues over slavery, but opened the door to new problems.
Henry …show more content…
There was a dispute over the land of Texas. Texas claimed its own territory extended to the Rio Grande, which included some parts of New Mexico. The bill “established the old boundary of New Mexico and compensate Texas for her loss of territory by a money payment” (Hodder 526). The Texas boundary was later passed in the Senate by a vote of 32 to 18 (Hodder 533).
The fourth controversy was the Fugitive Slave Law. This was the most controversial of the five laws. The Fugitive Slave Law allowed the slaveholders to catch any runaway slaves in the United States. More importantly, this included that they can catch any slaves that ran to the free states, known as the Northern states for freedom. Any slaves that were captured were to be delivered back to the master. Many supported the fugitive slave bill. The fugitive slave bill was passed in the Senate on August 23, 1850 by a vote of 27 to 12 (Hodder 534).
The fifth controversy was the slavery in the District of Columbia. The nation’s capital, Washington D.C., allowed slavery and had the most slaves in the entire nation. According to “The Authorship of The Compromise of 1850”, “for years the North had urged and the South opposed the abolition of slavery and the slave trade in the District of Columbia” (Hodder 526). The District of Columbia bill was finally passed in the Senate, by a vote of 33 to 19 on September 16, 1850 (Hodder …show more content…
According to “The Authorship of The Compromise of 1850”, all seventeen states, “thirteen Democrats and four Whigs, voted for nearly all the bills” (Hodder 535). After many controversies, Stephen Douglas finally got the Compromise of 1850 passed in congress in September 1850 (Hodder 535).
There were positives and negatives. The Union gained two more free states. But it came at a high cost because the Southern States gained the Fugitive Slave Act. No black man is safe because of the new law. The law gave southern slaveholders the right to claim the slave/s that had escaped. Many blacks fled to Canada to stay away from the new enforced law. Often, many times free blacks were enslaved because of mistaken identity.
The Compromise ultimately opened the door to civil war. The war was between the North and the South over slavery issues. The Northern states were anti-slavery. The Southern states were pros-slavery. The Northerners wanted to completely end slavery in the North. The problem went back to the Fugitive Slave law in the compromise. Therefore, the compromise of 1850 led to the outbreak of new problems in the United
On January 29, 1850, Senator Henry Clay proposed the Compromise of 1850. One of Henry Clay’s major supporters on the compromise was Stephen Douglas. The compromise was intended to resolve the territories and slaveries from the Mexican-American War. There were disputes between the north and south. The northern states wanted the new territories won from the Mexican-American War to be slave free, but southern states wanted slavery in the new territories. The compromise of 1850 consisted of five different laws to help settle the controversial disputes concerning slavery. The Compromise of 1850 temporarily helped to resolve controversial issues over slavery, but opened the door to new problems.
Henry …show more content…
There was a dispute over the land of Texas. Texas claimed its own territory extended to the Rio Grande, which included some parts of New Mexico. The bill “established the old boundary of New Mexico and compensate Texas for her loss of territory by a money payment” (Hodder 526). The Texas boundary was later passed in the Senate by a vote of 32 to 18 (Hodder 533).
The fourth controversy was the Fugitive Slave Law. This was the most controversial of the five laws. The Fugitive Slave Law allowed the slaveholders to catch any runaway slaves in the United States. More importantly, this included that they can catch any slaves that ran to the free states, known as the Northern states for freedom. Any slaves that were captured were to be delivered back to the master. Many supported the fugitive slave bill. The fugitive slave bill was passed in the Senate on August 23, 1850 by a vote of 27 to 12 (Hodder 534).
The fifth controversy was the slavery in the District of Columbia. The nation’s capital, Washington D.C., allowed slavery and had the most slaves in the entire nation. According to “The Authorship of The Compromise of 1850”, “for years the North had urged and the South opposed the abolition of slavery and the slave trade in the District of Columbia” (Hodder 526). The District of Columbia bill was finally passed in the Senate, by a vote of 33 to 19 on September 16, 1850 (Hodder …show more content…
According to “The Authorship of The Compromise of 1850”, all seventeen states, “thirteen Democrats and four Whigs, voted for nearly all the bills” (Hodder 535). After many controversies, Stephen Douglas finally got the Compromise of 1850 passed in congress in September 1850 (Hodder 535).
There were positives and negatives. The Union gained two more free states. But it came at a high cost because the Southern States gained the Fugitive Slave Act. No black man is safe because of the new law. The law gave southern slaveholders the right to claim the slave/s that had escaped. Many blacks fled to Canada to stay away from the new enforced law. Often, many times free blacks were enslaved because of mistaken identity.
The Compromise ultimately opened the door to civil war. The war was between the North and the South over slavery issues. The Northern states were anti-slavery. The Southern states were pros-slavery. The Northerners wanted to completely end slavery in the North. The problem went back to the Fugitive Slave law in the compromise. Therefore, the compromise of 1850 led to the outbreak of new problems in the United