Territorial Issues And Compromises During The Civil War

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Territorial Issues and Compromises On April 12, 1861 the legendary American Civil War broke out. This was a war that would decide the fate of the United States of America. A major problem within the government back then was deciding on whether or not the government had power to outlaw slavery in unmarked U.S. territories. As more territory was acquired, the greater the tension grew between the free and slave states. Luckily, the Civil War was delayed due to various settlements between political parties regarding slavery- such as the Missouri Compromise, Compromise of 1850, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 was proposed by Representative Henry Clay from Kentucky. Clay came up with this after Missouri demanded to become a state, which would have upset the existing balance among free and slave states. The compromise resulted in Missouri admitted as a slave state and Maine carved out of Massachusetts as a free state. Before this conciliation, sectionalism seemed to be on an increasing rise in popularity. This compromise delayed the Civil War by several decades. …show more content…
Henry Clay came up with the Compromise of 1850, and it was passed with the help of Senator Stephen Douglas. This compromise allowed Utah to become either a free or slave state depending on popular sovereignty, banned slave markets from Washington D.C., and allowed the Tougher Fugitive Slave Act to pass. It was a considerably even win for all, since both the northerners and southerners got a piece of what they wanted. The dispute over slavery in new territories was settled yet again for that time

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