Slavery and it surrounding issues have been a problem for too many years to count. The fact that surrounds the Compromise of 1850 is that it allowed for an ongoing era of peace that was established by the 1820 Missouri Compromise. The Missouri Compromise settled the dispute between North and South and brought peace for nearly three decades and drew an imaginary line dividing the country in two. In the north slavery was not allowed and in the south slavery was allowed. The particular issue at hand with the Compromise of 1850 is the divisions over slavery in territories gained in the Mexican American War. After the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed on February 2, 1848 it brought an additional 525,000 square miles into the United States territory
…show more content…
This compromise was composed of five laws that were proposed by Senator Henry Clay and passed in September of 1850. The five bills approved as statues by Congress were signed by President Fillmore: California was accepted in the Union as the 16th free state, governments in New Mexico and Utah were organized without mention of slavery, Texas received 10 million dollars in exchange of land it gained during the Mexican American War. It set the present geographical boundaries of the state, slave trade in Washington DC was abolished, but slave ownership continued, The Fugitive Slave Act was amended. In 1849, the state of California was interested in joining the Union, but this presented a slight problem. If they were accepted into the Union this would disrupt the balance between the free and slave states in the United States Senate. Even though it was accepted, many believe that this compromise was patchwork to hold together the balance and political equilibrium that would eventually lead to …show more content…
With the huge losses of balance and power by the South, they expected their gains to balance that out. However, their chance of leveling the free/slave state balance was slighted as both New Mexico and Utah settlers were not interested in agriculture = not interested in slaves. The south’s "Greatest Victory", the Fugitive Slave Law, also ultimately lost the most for them. The Fugitive Slave Law pushed moderates to become abolitionists through bills and was often ignored by
This compromise was composed of five laws that were proposed by Senator Henry Clay and passed in September of 1850. The five bills approved as statues by Congress were signed by President Fillmore: California was accepted in the Union as the 16th free state, governments in New Mexico and Utah were organized without mention of slavery, Texas received 10 million dollars in exchange of land it gained during the Mexican American War. It set the present geographical boundaries of the state, slave trade in Washington DC was abolished, but slave ownership continued, The Fugitive Slave Act was amended. In 1849, the state of California was interested in joining the Union, but this presented a slight problem. If they were accepted into the Union this would disrupt the balance between the free and slave states in the United States Senate. Even though it was accepted, many believe that this compromise was patchwork to hold together the balance and political equilibrium that would eventually lead to …show more content…
With the huge losses of balance and power by the South, they expected their gains to balance that out. However, their chance of leveling the free/slave state balance was slighted as both New Mexico and Utah settlers were not interested in agriculture = not interested in slaves. The south’s "Greatest Victory", the Fugitive Slave Law, also ultimately lost the most for them. The Fugitive Slave Law pushed moderates to become abolitionists through bills and was often ignored by