With tensions in the United States between the pro-slavery South and anti-slavery North reaching a breaking point by the 1840s, many Americans were worried that states would soon begin to secede and the Union would crumble without a fast resolution. Beginning with Henry Clay and being completed by Stephen A Douglas, the Compromise of 1850 temporarily delayed the inevitable beginning of the Civil War.
A Summary of the Compromise of 1850
When the Mexican American War ended in 1848, the United States was left to question what to do with all of their newly gained territories; the question of whether slavery would expand into the West weighed heavy. After the war, Americans began to flood into California in search of gold, and upon settling decided that they wished for the state to be entered into the Union as free. The government accepted California's request, however, they would also need to find a way to appeal to the angered South; as California's entrance as a free state would throw off the balance of slave state and free state Senators in Congress.
The Passing of the Compromise in Congress: From Henry Clay to Stephen A. Douglass
In 1849, Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky decided to take on the challenge and drafted the first version of the Compromise of 1850. The Compromise was denied by Congress and Henry Clay soon fell ill, to which Stephen A. Douglas stepped in to assist. Douglas redrafted the Compromise and split it into five separate sections. This time, Congress passed them all.
Though the Compromise was meant to hold neutrality and appeal to both the North and the South, both sides became more deeply angered with one another due to the strict Fugitive Slave Act. The Compromise would only hold off the oncoming war for so long, as the idea of secession began to pick up rapidly in the South.
Fugitive Slave Law
Though the Fugitive Slave Law had existed since the writing of the United States Constitution in 1787, it became far more strict in 1850. The Law now stated that runaway slaves were to be captured, arrested, and sent back to their home state regardless of what state they were caught in. The slave masters' ability to now reach into the North brought unwanted violence, causing a rise in Northern Abolitionism and spirited the publishing of Harriet Beecher Stowe's famous novel "Uncle Toms Cabin".
Compromise of 1850: Map of the Country
Pictured in the map below is the separation of slave and free states along with the Missouri Compromise Line of 1820. The red in the South were slave states, while the blue states in the North were free. The green line represents the Missouri Compromise or 36º30' line. Until the imbalance of power occurred between slave and free states when California entered as free in 1849, the agreement was that no territory North or West of the line would be entered as a pro-slave state.
Fig. 1 Map of United States' free and slave states.
The Provisions of the Compromise of 1850
In this section, we will examine the contributions of Henry Clay and Stephen A. Douglas before going on to learn about the five provisions of the Compromise of 1850.
Compromise of 1850: Henry Clay
Henry Clay was the current sitting Senator from the state of Kentucky when he decided to take on the challenge of creating a compromise that would settle tensions between the North and the South. In his original bill, Clay laid out a
Fig. 2 Senator Henry Clay. plan to combat the country's sectional tensions. This bill included:
- California's entry into the Union as a free state.
- Setting Texas' official borders in return for debt relief from Mexico.
- Organizing and establishing the territories of New Mexico and Utah.
- Banning the slave trade in Washington DC in return for a new Fugitive Slave Law.
Despite the attempt at appealing to both sides, pro-slavery Southerners hated that California was entered as a free state while Northerners thought it to be a fair compromise in return for a stricter Fugitive Slave Law. John C. Calhoun, a radical Southern Democrat, openly spoke out in opposition to this version of the Compromise, while Whig Party member William H. Seward criticized the strengthening of Fugitive Slave laws. After sending the bill through to Congress, it was denied.
Members of the Whig Party would later go on to form the Republican Party after being dissolved in 1856.
Compromise of 1850: Stephen A. Douglas
Stephen A. Douglas was a Senator from the state of Illinois who decided to re-write the Compromise after it was denied by Congress and Henry Clay had fallen ill. In his version of the Compromise, Douglas made subtle but powerful changes and separated each of the five topics into their own bills.
Fig. 3 Senator Stephen A. Douglas.
The Five Sections of Douglas Compromise
- The new, stricter, Fugitive Slave Law in which federal officials from all states were required to capture and return runaway slaves to their masters.
- The ending of the slave trade within Washington DC, though outside of the grounds of the White House and Congress, slaveholding was still permitted.
- The confirmation of Congress to admit California into the Union as a free state.
- The New Mexico and Utah territories would be granted "popularsovereignty," in which they will decide for themselves whether or not to allow slavery.
- The borders of Texas were organized and the United States needed to take on the weight of its debts.
This time around, the bills were accepted and passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Americans celebrated the passing as the "Compromise that saved the Union," but the celebrations would be short-lived.
Douglas' popular Sovereignty
The idea of "Popular Sovereignty," coined by Stephen A. Douglas, was the idea that would later cause Bleeding Kansas in the new territory of Kansas in 1854. Douglas strongly believed that it should be up to the individuals of the state and not the government, to decide whether or not to accept slavery. Though this seemed to work for the territories of New Mexico and Utah, the rapid flooding of both pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers into Kansas caused massive amounts of violence and loss of life. This decision by Douglas would leave a stain on his political reputation until the end of his life.
Significance & Effects of the Compromise
Along with the passing of the Compromise of 1850, violence against both free and fugitive African Americans began to rise. "Slave Hunters" could kidnap and arrest them as escaped slaves, even if they were free; this could be done without a warrant or a trial taking place. The North soon began to dive deeper into Abolitionism as the violence increased within their borders.
In this same decade, the Whig Party dissolved and the radical Abolitionists from the Party went on to create the Republican Party in 1854. With the Republican Party putting forth their candidate Abraham Lincoln in 1860 for the Presidency, the South broke the Union. Southern states began to secede, eventually causing the Civil War in April of 1861.
Compromise of 1850 - Key takeaways
- The Compromise of 1850 was an attempt to soften the tensions between the North and South regarding slavery's possible expansion into the West.
- The Compromise was originally written by Henry Clay but was denied, rewritten, and finally accepted by Congress after Stephen A. Douglas took over.
- Even though a Fugitive Slave Law had existed since the writing of the U.S. Constitution in 1787, the new one within the Compromise brought more violence into the North, pushing the idea of Abolitionism.
- The Compromise of 1850 only put off violence for just over a decade before, ironically, increasing the tensions in the country to a breaking point; the Civil War broke out in 1861.
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