Key Legislation on the Issue of Slavery -How the Union repeatedly tried not to get a divorce
Missouri Compromise (1820) Maine admitted as free state Missouri admitted as a slave –Preserves sectional balance in the senate b/w slave states and free states Louisiana Territory divided in the 36”30’ –North of the line is free –South of the line is slave
Wilmont Proviso (1846) After war w/ Mexico & Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo –California, Utah, New Mexico are closed to slavery forever Argument b/w free-soilers and slave owners –Free-soilers do not own slaves, farm, and are against the institution of slavery
Compromise of 1850 California admitted to the Union as a free state Utah and New Mexico territories decide about slavery Sale of slaves banned in D.C. Fugitive Slave Act required people in free states to help capture and return escaped slaves Establishes Popular Sovereignty
Popular Sovereignty The right of residents of a territory to vote for or against slavery when becoming a state.
Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854) Divides territory in ½ –Nebraska to the North –Kansas to the South Repeals the Missouri Compromise Tests the policy of popular sovereignty –Violence erupts –People are murdered –Nicknamed “Bleeding Kansas