Slave Compromise

After 60 years of progress and expansion, the United States of America observed conflicts to their country. Since the foundation of the New World, compromises and negotiations kept the nation as one. However, until the mid-19th century, America attempted to solve their disputes through compromises, but due to their constant issues of slavery, compromises were no longer supportive. During 1820-1860, several reasons in the political views on slavery eventually led to the termination of compromise. Henry Clay, the Great Compromiser, generated the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and the Compromise of 1850 in order to maintain the country as a whole. The Missouri Compromise declared Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. The Compromise of 1850 admitted California as a free state, ended slave trade in Washington D.C. and a stronger Fugitive Slave Law passed. In 1833, Senator Henry Clay stated,”…it is impossible that South Carolina ever desired for a moment to become a separate and independent state. Additionally, although Declaration of the National Anti-Slavery Convention in 1834 opposed slavery, they did believe Congress had “no right to interfere with any of the slave states…” .However, the northern disagreement against the Compromise of 1850, especially the Fugitive Slave Law, Wilmot Proviso and popular sovereignty, increased slavery’s opposition. This was emphasized in the Election of 1860, where not one Southern state voted for Lincoln; Lincoln won all of the “free” states except New Jersey. This major issue over slavery ultimately led to southern succession therefore deterioration of compromise. This is similar all of the times when individual states attempted to secede from the Union for various reasons, such as states’ rights. Western Expansion in Polk’s presidency due to Manifest Destiny created problems if new territories should be slave or free states. Like always, the North opposed slave states in new territories, and South favored it.