The Compromise of 1850

A new compromise is needed… As time went by, the Missouri Compromise fell apart. Hopefully you realized that the line drawn by the Missouri Compromise meant that there would be more free states than slave states. There was a lot more territory to make free states than there was to make slave states. In addition, what would become California was split in half by the 36’ 30’ line drawn in 1820.

A new compromise is needed… Additionally, by the year 1850, the United States had added more territory than it had at the time of the Missouri Compromise. Except for Alaska, Hawaii, and the Gadsden Purchase, the U.S. owned all the land that makes up today’s 50 states. In 1849, California requested permission to enter the Union as a free state. This threatened the balance of free and slave states. It quickly became clear that the U.S. needed a new plan to keep the country from falling apart.

The Compromise’s Author? By 1850, sectional tensions had only increased in the U.S., making this compromise all the more difficult and complicated. It was going to require a strong leader to keep the Union together. Any guess who the author of this compromise was? My nickname gives it away!!! HINT:

The Compromise of 1850 consists of five laws passed in September of 1850 that dealt with the issue of slavery. Senator Henry Clay introduced a series of resolutions on January 29, 1850, in an attempt to seek a compromise and avert a crisis between North and South. Would it keep the Union intact?

Here’s how it worked… The South got… The North got… California was admitted as free state A stronger law to return fugitive slaves. The citizens of each new territory would vote on whether or not to have slavery. The slave trade was abolished in Washington D.C.

In addition… Texas gave up her western boundary claim of the Rio Grande in return for U.S. assumption of her $10 million debt from the days of the Texas Republic. This strip of land was added to the New Mexico Territory.