Compromise Of 1850 Research Paper
The Compromise of 1850 President Taylor dies in the midst of the controversy in 1850. This added to the already growing amount of tension between the union and the North and South. Vice President Millard Fillmore took over the reins and jumped into a huge mess within the states. Henry Clay, U.S. senator from Kentucky, was determined to find a solution. 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 as it was going to keep the union from falling apart. There were a few issues at hand during this time in 1850 that brought on the whole compromise. First off, the U.S. had
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recently gained a large territory from winning the war against Mexico. There was debate on whether or not to allow slavery in the territory or if it should be declared a free state. Also, there was word that California would want to petition Congress to enter the Union as a free state. The allowance of this was questionable and most feared that this would threaten the balance between free states and slave states. There was controversy in Texas about the territory lines. Texans claimed they owned all territory to Sante Fe. Finally, not only was the nation’s Capitol allowing slavery at the time but it was home to the largest slave market in North America and some thought this ought to be different. On January 29, 1850, Clay presented a compromise.
Henry Clay also delivered more than seventy speeches throughout the process, “ as a powerful sentiment for acceptance gradually crystallized in the North” (Cohen/Kennedy). 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. It was these few men that led the creation of the compromise and are known historically for their …show more content…
contributions. Both sides, the North and the South, had pieces of this compromise that would benefit them. Concessions to the North were as follows: California would be admitted into the union as a free state, territory disputed by Texas and New Mexico would be surrendered to New Mexico and slave trade (but not slavery) in the District of Columbia would be abolished. On the other hand, concessions to the South were: the remainder of the Mexican Cession area had to be formed into territories of New Mexico and Utah, without restriction on slavery, hence open to popular sovereignty, Texas was to receive ten million dollars from the federal government as compensation, and a more stringent fugitive-slave law was put into place going beyond that of 1793. The compromise brought some unfairness in my eyes.
If you weigh out the wins and losses for both the North and the South in this whole ordeal, you’ll find that the North had the better deal. This crazy and chaotic decade gave the North time to accumulate the material and moral strength that provided the margin of victory. In fact, I believe that the North was victorious in the Civil war because of having the better end of Compromise of 1850. If the compromise would have dealt out a little differently, the result of the Civil War might have been altered. This Compromise also played an important role in the Underground Railroad. The effects of the compromise put a major jumpstart on the railroad and gave many African Americans the chance to start a new life in Canada and other free
places.
Works Cited
"30d. The Compromise of 1850." The Compromise of 1850 [ushistory.org]. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2013. .
Bissell, William H. (William Henry). The slave question : speech of Mr. William H.
Bissell, of Illinois, in the House of Representatives, Thursday, February 21, 1850
: in Committee ... [Washington, D.C.], [1850]. 8pp. Sabin Americana. Gale, Cengage Learning. . 28 October 2013
"Primary Documents in American History." Compromise of 1850: Primary Documents of American History (Virtual Programs & Services, Library of Congress). N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2013. .
"The Compromise of 1850 and the Fugitive Slave Act ." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2013. .
recently gained a large territory from winning the war against Mexico. There was debate on whether or not to allow slavery in the territory or if it should be declared a free state. Also, there was word that California would want to petition Congress to enter the Union as a free state. The allowance of this was questionable and most feared that this would threaten the balance between free states and slave states. There was controversy in Texas about the territory lines. Texans claimed they owned all territory to Sante Fe. Finally, not only was the nation’s Capitol allowing slavery at the time but it was home to the largest slave market in North America and some thought this ought to be different. On January 29, 1850, Clay presented a compromise.
Henry Clay also delivered more than seventy speeches throughout the process, “ as a powerful sentiment for acceptance gradually crystallized in the North” (Cohen/Kennedy). 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. It was these few men that led the creation of the compromise and are known historically for their …show more content…
contributions. Both sides, the North and the South, had pieces of this compromise that would benefit them. Concessions to the North were as follows: California would be admitted into the union as a free state, territory disputed by Texas and New Mexico would be surrendered to New Mexico and slave trade (but not slavery) in the District of Columbia would be abolished. On the other hand, concessions to the South were: the remainder of the Mexican Cession area had to be formed into territories of New Mexico and Utah, without restriction on slavery, hence open to popular sovereignty, Texas was to receive ten million dollars from the federal government as compensation, and a more stringent fugitive-slave law was put into place going beyond that of 1793. The compromise brought some unfairness in my eyes.
If you weigh out the wins and losses for both the North and the South in this whole ordeal, you’ll find that the North had the better deal. This crazy and chaotic decade gave the North time to accumulate the material and moral strength that provided the margin of victory. In fact, I believe that the North was victorious in the Civil war because of having the better end of Compromise of 1850. If the compromise would have dealt out a little differently, the result of the Civil War might have been altered. This Compromise also played an important role in the Underground Railroad. The effects of the compromise put a major jumpstart on the railroad and gave many African Americans the chance to start a new life in Canada and other free
places.
Works Cited
"30d. The Compromise of 1850." The Compromise of 1850 [ushistory.org]. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2013. .
Bissell, William H. (William Henry). The slave question : speech of Mr. William H.
Bissell, of Illinois, in the House of Representatives, Thursday, February 21, 1850
: in Committee ... [Washington, D.C.], [1850]. 8pp. Sabin Americana. Gale, Cengage Learning. . 28 October 2013
"Primary Documents in American History." Compromise of 1850: Primary Documents of American History (Virtual Programs & Services, Library of Congress). N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2013. .
"The Compromise of 1850 and the Fugitive Slave Act ." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2013. .