Essay On Compromise Of 1850

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Slave and Free states could not coexist in a union. Compromise after compromise was brought to the table to avoid an oncoming collapse. Despite the work of legislators and presidents to appease both sides, Northern and Southern states remained at odds. The divisions between the two sides transcended generations. Political crises in 1787, 1820, 1832, 1850 and 1860 not only brought failed compromises, but also strained the threads holding the nation together. Solutions to the crises were only effective for a short term. At its core, the issues between North and South funneled into slavery and its role in the identity of a young nation. Its only solution would come through bloodshed. As the United States reformed the structure of its government, …show more content…

With several new territories available and a bid for admission into the union by California, the nation was once again divided. Southerners wished to protect slavery’s presence in new territories while northerners strongly opposed this. Henry Clay, the great compromiser of 1820, returned to the scene with a new compromise. The Compromise of 1850 was presented before Congress as an omnibus bill. California would be admitted as a free state, New Mexico and Utah determined their status by popular sovereignty, the Texas border would be moved back in exchanging for relief of its war debt, the slave trade would be prohibited in the District of Columbia, and a stricter fugitive slave law would be enforced. Divisions between the North and South were far too wide to pass this bill. Clay no longer had the ability to bring leaders from either side together onto the bill. Instead, Stephen Douglas proposed the Compromise of 1850 as five separate bills. The bills would be brought before Congress one by one. Douglas asked any representatives not supporting the bill to abstain from the vote. By doing so, the bills passed and relief temporarily fell on the nation again. While the compromise appeared stronger than previous relief, it only delayed an impending conflict. The attitudes of either side did not change. Northerners still saw slavery as abhorrent and did not want it spreading across the nation. Southerners felt strongly that they must defend their states’ rights to protect slavery at all costs. The compromises could only go as far as the nation’s territory

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