Compromise Of 1850 Essay

Improved Essays
In the 1850s, slavery, and other political issues between the states, became a sizable issue. Slavery began to dissect people. For example, the Northerners began to begin support free soil and abolition. However, the Southerners disagreed, and tension increased dramatically. Soon, the Southern slaveowners felt that their rights were no longer being illustrated, and felt that they must succeed (secession is the act of withdrawing from an organization, union, military alliance or especially a political entity, to be protected from Northern abuse. Soon after the issues appeared between the North and the South, Henry Clay designed a compromise in the early 1850s. However, while President Zachary Taylor was in office, the Compromise of 1850 …show more content…
It stated that (for the North) California was to be admitted as a free stare, which also set off the “balance” of slave-to-non-slave sates, slave trade was to be prohibited in Washington D.C., and that Texas would lose the boundary dispute with New Mexico. In other words, the south got no slavery restrictions in Utah or New Mexico territories, slaveholding permitted in Washington D.C., Texas would get 10 million dollars, and the Fugitive Slave Law (authorized local governments to capture and return escaped slaves to their owners and had imposed penalties on anyone who aided in the slave’s flight) would be passed. The Fugitive Slave Law caused the most controversy, however. Though both the North and South benefited from the Compromise of 1850, the Compromise seemed to favor the North. This infuriated the …show more content…
Franklin Pierce, a Democrat, took office. Another event that took place in 1852 was the publishing of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” by Harriet Beecher Stowe. It is a 19th century novel about anti-slavery. It is said that this novel “helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War”, claims Will Kaufman. The production of this novel also further strained the sectional tensions. Two years later, the Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed by President Fillmore. This act was much more isolating, splitting the Democratic Party according to sectional interests and increasing the Republican Party. Other than that, it was basically the same as the Compromise of 1850. The struggle between the North and South fighting over Kansas led to people soon flooding into Kansas to fight about slavery, which leads to the “Crime against Kansas”, also known as one of the most famous political historical events. (Senator Charles Sumner talks smack about Preston Brooks relative, and Brooks beats him with a

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Apush Dbq Research Paper

    • 617 Words
    • 3 Pages

    By the 1850s, the two parties system was in crisis because moderate compromises such as the Missouri Compromise in 1820s by the “great pacificator,” Henry Clay of Kentucky could no longer appease both sides’ extreme radicals, as the territories kept getting westward expanded and ordained by the doctrine of Manifest Destiny. (Brands, p.295) The next generation of Congressmen such as Wilmot Proviso’s argument and Lewis Cass’s “Popular Sovereignty” failed to forge compromises over the Republican’s “slave–power conspiracy” and the Democrat’s “southern rights” as the Mexican War drew to a close. (Brands, p. 313) Especially, in January 1854, Senator Stephen Douglas’ introduction of the Kansas-Nebraska Act on the base of “Popular Sovereignty” to repeal the Missouri Compromise of 1820 in order to bring about the railroad to go through his home state in support of expansion and commerce was a major disaster. Accordingly, Douglas’ bill further worsened on the irreconcilable sectional division in his own Democratic Party, gave birth to the new Republican…

    • 617 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    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…

    • 508 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The years following 1850 proved to be a time of political turmoil in the United States. With slavery still being utilized in the South, it seemed that the Northern and Southern politicians would always be at odds. This opposition would always exist between the North and South so long as slavery existed. During the period preceding the Compromise of 1850 politicians were able to formulate compromises that barely appeased both sides. Eventually there was nothing else to do to satisfy both sides of the country.…

    • 1680 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Apush Dbq Tension

    • 527 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The thought of Lincoln taking their slaves, despite his promise not to, led them to secession. In the years preceding the Civil War both sides were forced to concede points to avoid violence, but in the end, it only delayed the inevitable fighting and made those for and against slavery frustrated and ready to bear arms. As the country’s stakes on land increased in size so too did the stakes of the issue at hand. Gradually, as the year, 1860 approached Americans faced a matter that could not be left alone.…

    • 527 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    1820 To 1860 Dbq Essay

    • 1710 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Americans during the early nineteenth century were trying to reach for compromise to solve their political disputes, but by 1860 compromise seemed unattainable. The years between 1820 and 1860 were a time of vast change for the newly free colonies and each citizen had different ideas on what advancements from there would look like. All the disputes revolved around one thing: slavery. The issue proved to be explosive by 1860 when the nation realized the Compromise of 1820 and the Compromise of 1850, which were passed to bring a sense of unity, seemed to be done in vain as they hardly made a dent in the issues at hand. Voters joined political parties and voted for officials based on their attitudes toward slavery, the issue caused sectional divides between the North and South, and different cultural events…

    • 1710 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Decent Essays

    One major controversy of the 1850s was the Kansas-Nebraska Act which was around 1854, A man by the name of Stephan Douglas made a proposal that Kansas and Nebraska be divided into two sections while the Missouri compromise be repealed, settlers had to decipher on whether or not to they wanted slavery in their territories which was popular sovereignty. In relation to the expansion of slavery, this contributed to the divide of America on the how the Union looked at slavery and the Confederacy. Many states had their own stances on slavery as they were either pro-slavery or anti-slavery. Kansas with slavery would violate the Missouri compromise, which for the most part kept the Union intact over the last few decades. As a result of this Kansas-Nebraska…

    • 207 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    For example, Illinois Senator Stephen Douglas attempted to pass both the Kansas-Nebraska Act, as well as the Compromise of 1850. He sought to repeal the ban of slavery north of the 36 degree 30” line previously established in the Missouri Compromise and to admit California as a slave state. In so doing, he sparked political controversy creating a divide between between anti-slavery (typically Northern) and pro-slavery (typically southern) politicians. These pro-slavery laws ignited widespread anger throughout the North, creating fissures within political parties which would eventually lead to divisions within them. Additionally, the numerous Acts passed in an effort to appease each side of the slavery controversy, also undermined the Country’s overall domestic tranquility.…

    • 1279 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Civil War Dbq

    • 813 Words
    • 4 Pages

    For the majority of American History leading up to the Civil War, civilians had been divided over the issue of slavery and politics. The nation had a long history of compromise that seemed necessary to keep the nation unified. Most of these compromises avoided the issue of slavery, as politicians and “great compromisers” like Henry Clay aimed to prevent the inevitable split between the North and South. There was a turning point, however, in the North and South, when compromise was no longer an option. Although the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 was the immediate and final trigger for southern secession, other attributes including the Kansas-Nebraska Act, Bleeding Kansas, and the Dred Scott decision of 1857 drove the South further towards…

    • 813 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    This debate over slavery was to morally devolved for a simple compromise to end the disputes. In document H, it can be seen that Lincoln’s election was highly disputed and disagreed upon. By the time 1860 had arrived, political parties of the north and south were based more strongly upon morals than on political beliefs. This shift in party reasoning caused the likeness of compromise to continue to…

    • 716 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Not long afterwards, the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 took place. This repealed the Missouri Compromise. Kansas and Nebraska were both to vote using popular sovereignty to decide on slavery. Both pro-slavery settlers and anti-slavery settlers rushed to the area to gain the upper hand of the states, resulting in absolute chaos. As a result states’ rights and Manifest Destiny played a role in the cause of the Civil War.…

    • 1394 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The Civil war was a battle fought between the United and Confederate states of America, launching in 1861. The Civil war initiated, due to the country not being able to come to a compromise on the issue of slavery, and politics. The Civil war is one of the most unique wars in the history of America. Some historians believe the war could be prevented while others believe it was bound to happen. However, I feel that in many cases the Civil war could have been avoided, but the ways things were being handled in the country it was destined to happen.…

    • 1102 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the 1800s tension was beginning to build between the north and south over the issue of slavery. Three major compromises helped contribute to these tensions and lead to eventual war. These are the Missouri Compromise, the Compromise of 1850, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act. These compromises and their effects had major consequences that shaped the nation of their time.…

    • 575 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Brilliant Essays

    John Brown Abolition Movement

    • 1892 Words
    • 8 Pages
    • 3 Works Cited

    John Brown devised a plan to incite a slave rebellion in the Appalachian Mountains, arming slaves as they were freed and pushing on to free more men, the army of former slaves growing drastically as it rolled along (Stoddard and Murphy, 15). Slave rebellions had failed miserably in the past, but Brown's idea of properly arming the slaves gave some abolitionists the idea that it could work. On October 16, 1859, John Brown led a group of twenty-two men into Harper's Ferry, West Virginia, to secure weapons from the federal armory stationed in the small town nestled between the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers (Stoddard and Murphy, 15). The weapons stored in the armory would be more than enough to kick off Brown's envisioned revolution. Events did not unfold as the men had hoped, and they were soon surrounded by townspeople and fired upon, with marines (led, ironically, by then Colonel Robert E. Lee) arriving by the following afternoon (Stoddard and Murphy, 15).…

    • 1892 Words
    • 8 Pages
    • 3 Works Cited
    Brilliant Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The people of the United States believed it was their god given right to expand from the Atlantic Ocean, east to the Pacific Ocean, North to Canadian border, and South to Mexico. This idea of Manifest Destiny fueled the expansion into the West. Big indicators of Manifest Destiny were the use of the Oregon Trail, and the Mexican – American War. Despite Manifest Destiny bringing about an increase in sectionalism and conflict, it also allowed for the expansion of territory and fueled movement into the west. With people moving west into the newly claimed territory, there was controversy whether the territories would become free or slave states.…

    • 788 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Secession Essay

    • 1178 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Although the Northern states and the Southern states had their differences in their beliefs, on profuse occasions—specifically on slavery—compromises had squelch down the bad blood between them. However, in 1789, even after the Constitution was adopted by all of the States to amalgamate as a nation, for more than thirty years, the temporarily ceased frictions between the North and South went to and fro once more. Thus, by 1861, these opposing ideals between the disputants were so prodigious that the compromises do not seem enticing to either antithetical stance. Henceforth, this led to the secession of the Southern states, much to the Northern states’ disgust and eventually to the Civil War.…

    • 1178 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays