17.1 Settling Differences pp. 540-544

Objectives: Explain why the Mexican Cession divided the North and the South. Outline how Northerners and Southerners tried to settle differences.

A. Regions Grow Further Apart (pp. 540-541) In the mid-1800s, the U.S. gained vast new territory in the West. The issue of slavery in the West would set the North against the South. An earlier dividing line that was part of the Missouri Compromise (1820) did not apply to the lands of the Mexican Cession.

B. Sectionalism Grows Stronger (p. 541) Before the Mexican War ended, the Wilmot Proviso was introduced to outlaw slavery in all territory acquired from Mexico. The Wilmot Proviso strengthened feelings of sectionalism, loyalty to a state or region rather than to the country as a whole. Senator Lewis Cass introduced the notion of popular sovereignty, allowing the voters who lived in a territory—not Congress—to decide whether they should be slave or free.

C. The Election of 1848 (p. 541) The Election of 1848 pitted Democrat Lewis Cass against Whig Zachary Taylor, a hero of the Mexican War. Some Whigs refused to vote for Taylor because he was a slaveholder. They united with some Northern Democrats to form the Free-Soil Party, an antislavery party which received an impressive number of votes.

D. The California Question (p. 542) The population surge of the Gold Rush led California to apply for admission to the Union as a free state in 1849. Admission of California would tip the balance of power in the Senate in favor of the free states. South Carolina Senator John C. Calhoun warned that this and any other Northern-sponsored measures would lead the South to secede, or leave the United States.

E. Clay’s Proposal (pp. 542-544) To resolve the crisis, Henry Clay (the “Great Compromiser”) introduced a five-part bill that eventually became known as the Compromise of 1850. A young senator from Illinois, Stephen A. Douglas, guided each bill through separately and won approval for all of them. The Compromise of 1850 patched up the North-South quarrel for a time.

F. Compromise of 1850 [Brace Map] California admitted as a free state Organization of New Mexico and Utah as territories with popular sovereignty Payment to Texas for giving up some territory An end to the slave trade—but not slavery—in the District of Columbia Passage of a strict fugitive slave law Compromise of 1850 p. 343

Review 1. What legislation was introduced to outlaw slavery in all territory acquired from Mexico? 2. Define sectionalism— 3. Which Michigan senator is best known for introducing the notion of popular sovereignty? 4. Define popular sovereignty— 5. __________________’s application for statehood touched off a long and bitter sectional debate. 6. Which South Carolina senator warned that the South might secede? 7. Define secede— 8. Who was known as the “Great Compromiser”? 9. Who guided Clay’s compromise bills through and won Senate approval for all of them? 10. List the parts of the Compromise of 1850.