compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850
After the war with Mexico, there was a lot of unsettled business to take care of. Such as that should the territory gained from the war allow slavery, or should it be declared free? Or maybe the inhabitants should be allowed to choose for themselves? Also, California had recently petitioned Congress to enter the Union as a free state. Should this be allowed? Ever since the Missouri Compromise, the balance between slave states and free states had been maintained; any proposal that threatened this balance would almost certainly not win approval. There was a dispute over land as well. Texas claimed that its territory extended all the way to Santa Fe. Finally, there was Washington, D.C. Not only did the nation's capital allow slavery, it was home to the largest slave market in North America.
The U.S senator, Henry Clay, was determined to take care of all these disputes. He, as well as other men like Daniel Webster and John Calhoun, sat down and debated a compromise that could resolve all these issue. The compromise became know as the Compromise of 1850.
This compromise made four decisions. First, the new land from Mexico, California, would be admitted as a free state. This is because Texas was a slave state and therefore there would still be an equal amount of both free and slave states. Second, the compromise came up with a boundary line between the United States and Mexico. Third, slave trade was banned in Washington D.C. Lastly, there would be laws set to make slaves return to the South if they every crossed over to the North.
Personally, I feel that the Compromise of 1850 was a success. Clay and his other men were very fair about every decision made. Even though I wish there was no such thing as slavery, I believe that having an even number of slave states and free states was smart. However, because there would be laws against slaves to cross over the free-state line, then there should also be laws set to slave owners that could
After the war with Mexico, there was a lot of unsettled business to take care of. Such as that should the territory gained from the war allow slavery, or should it be declared free? Or maybe the inhabitants should be allowed to choose for themselves? Also, California had recently petitioned Congress to enter the Union as a free state. Should this be allowed? Ever since the Missouri Compromise, the balance between slave states and free states had been maintained; any proposal that threatened this balance would almost certainly not win approval. There was a dispute over land as well. Texas claimed that its territory extended all the way to Santa Fe. Finally, there was Washington, D.C. Not only did the nation's capital allow slavery, it was home to the largest slave market in North America.
The U.S senator, Henry Clay, was determined to take care of all these disputes. He, as well as other men like Daniel Webster and John Calhoun, sat down and debated a compromise that could resolve all these issue. The compromise became know as the Compromise of 1850.
This compromise made four decisions. First, the new land from Mexico, California, would be admitted as a free state. This is because Texas was a slave state and therefore there would still be an equal amount of both free and slave states. Second, the compromise came up with a boundary line between the United States and Mexico. Third, slave trade was banned in Washington D.C. Lastly, there would be laws set to make slaves return to the South if they every crossed over to the North.
Personally, I feel that the Compromise of 1850 was a success. Clay and his other men were very fair about every decision made. Even though I wish there was no such thing as slavery, I believe that having an even number of slave states and free states was smart. However, because there would be laws against slaves to cross over the free-state line, then there should also be laws set to slave owners that could