5.4 The Compromise of 1850

Just like in previous decades, the United States had to deal with the problem of slavery in the Western territories.

The Context

As shown in the previous section (5.3), the US took over the Mexican Cession land after the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the Mexican American War. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed on February 2, 1848, marked the end of the Mexican-American War. As part of the treaty, Mexico ceded a significant portion of its territory to the United States, including present-day California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, and parts of Wyoming, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Colorado. 🧩

The settlement of California was rapidly increasing as a result of the 1849 California Gold Rush. The influx of settlers put pressure on the U.S. government to admit California as a state. However, there was no slave state seeking admission to the Union, which would have kept the balance of states in the Senate between slave states and free states. The absence of a slave state led to debates over the status of slavery in California and the territories acquired from Mexico, and ultimately to the passage of the Compromise of 1850, which admitted California as a free state and established the territories of New Mexico and Utah as territories open to slavery.

The Mexican Cession significantly expanded the size of the United States and changed the political and economic landscape of the country. The treaty and subsequent admission of California as a free state set the stage for ongoing debates over the expansion of slavery in the West, which ultimately led to the American Civil War later on in this unit.

The Deal

During the mid-19th century, the United States was grappling with deep divisions over the issue of slavery. The great statesmen of the time, Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and Stephen Douglas, worked to keep the Union together by passing a series of five acts, known as the Compromise of 1850. These acts aimed to address the concerns of both North and South and maintain a delicate balance between the two regions (you'll need to know the first two; the last three are minor details): 📜

1. The South got a new Fugitive Slave Act, which put the federal government in charge of recovering runaway slaves up North.
2. The North got California admitted as a free state
3. The North got an end of the slave trade in Washington DC, although not the end of slavery itself
4. The North got a boundary dispute between New Mexico and Texas. It was resolved in favor of non-slave New Mexico.
5. The rest of the Mexican Cession territory would be based on popular sovereignty (people in the territory would vote if it would be a free or slave state) The first act was a concession to the South, which was concerned about the loss of its human property. 

The second act was a victory for the North. The admission of California as a free state helped maintain the balance between free states and slave states in the Senate.

The third and fourth acts were also seen as a concession to the North. 

The fifth act allowed the people in the remaining Mexican Cession territory to vote on whether their state would be free or slave, which was seen as a compromise between North and South, as it allowed each region to exert some influence over the future of slavery in the West.

Image Courtesy of Wikimedia

The Aftermath: Did It Work?

The Compromise of 1850 was initially seen as a successful attempt to keep the Union together, as it addressed the concerns of both North and South and maintained a delicate balance between the two regions. However, the compromise was short-lived, as it failed within just four years of its implementation. 💀

One of the key reasons for the failure of the compromise was the admission of more free states without corresponding slave states. This angered the South, which felt that its rights and interests were being disregarded. The South saw the admission of free states as a threat to its political power and influence in the Senate, as well as to the institution of slavery itself.

Another reason for the failure of the Compromise of 1850 was the new Fugitive Slave Act, which caused outrage in the North. The act placed the responsibility of recovering runaway slaves on the federal government and imposed severe penalties on those who aided or abetted escaped slaves. Many Northerners saw this act as an infringement on their individual rights and liberties and a violation of the principles of justice and fairness.

Altogether, while the Compromise of 1850 was hailed as a successful attempt to keep the Union together, it ultimately failed to address the deeper divisions and tensions between North and South. The admission of more free states and the implementation of the Fugitive Slave Act heightened tensions and set the stage for the eventual outbreak of the American Civil War.

🎥 Watch: APUSH - Sectional and Regional Differences