1. Renewing the Sectional Struggle, 1848-1854
Chapter 18 (in brief)

2. Compromise Compromise of 1850 Admitted California as a free state
Set Texas-New Mexico border
Utah territories with slavery decided by popular sovereignty
Outlawed buying and selling of slaves in Washington D.C., but not slavery
Fugitive Slave Act

3. Allowed slave owners to travel to Northern states and “reclaim” escaped slaves
All a slave owner had to do was swear in front of a federal commissioner that the slave had escaped
African Americans had no right to trial and were not allowed to testify
Federal commissioners who ruled in favor of the slaveholder received $10, but only got $5 if they ruled against the slaveholder
Worked against the Southern cause because Northerners were angered over the unjust law
Fugitive Slave Act

4. Underground Railroad
A well organized system that had been around since the 1830s
Runaways were given food, shelter, and money to begin a new life in the Northern states or Canada
Harriet Tubman was the most famous “conductor” or guide
The Railroad caused deeper mistrust of Northerners by people in the South

5. Transcontinental Railroad
Many Americans believed railroad should be built to connect the West Coast to the rest of the country
Railroad became another point of argument when North and South couldn’t agree on where it should begin
Jefferson Davis (Secretary of War and Southern supporter) agreed to help the South get their starting point in New Orleans by purchasing land (Gadsden Purchase) from Mexico for the Railroad
Senator Stephen A. Douglas made a bill to organize the Nebraska Territory so the Railroad could begin in Chicago
Southern senators prevented a vote and told Douglas he would have to repeal the Missouri Compromise and allow slavery in Nebraska if he wanted the railroad in the North

6. Opening Japan
The Japanese only allowed the Chinese and the Dutch to trade with their nation because they worried that contact with the West would destroy their culture
In the 1850s Commodore Matthew C. Perry took a naval expedition to Japan
The Japanese had never seen steamships and were impressed by the technology and firepower and were intimidated into signing a treaty to trade with the US
By the late 1800s the Japanese had begun to industrialize and westernize