United States History Student Edition

The United States did gain new land in the Mexican War, including California and New Mexico. By the time of the 1848 presidential election, the issue of slavery in those areas remained unresolved. Leading up to the 1848 campaign, both the Whigs and the Democrats attempted to avoid the controversy over slavery. Some voters who strongly opposed slavery reacted by leaving their parties and forming the Free-Soil Party, which stood for “Free Soil, Free Speech, Free Labor, and Free Men.” They chose former president Martin Van Buren as their candidate. Whig Zachary Taylor, a hero of the Mexican War, won the presidency, but the Free- Soil Party gained several seats in Congress. The Compromise of 1850 A new crisis arose in 1849 when California applied to become a state—without slavery. If California became a free state, slave states would be outvoted in the Senate. Southerners talked about seceding (sih•SEED•ihng) from, or leaving, the Union.

In 1850, Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky suggested a compromise. California would be a free state, but other new territories would vote on whether to allow slavery. Clay also pushed for a stronger fugitive (FYOO•juh•tihv), or runaway, slave law. Such a law would require every state to return enslaved people who had escaped. President Taylor opposed Clay’s plan, but when Taylor died unexpectedly, Senator Stephen A. Douglas saw an opportunity. Douglas divided Clay’s plan into parts, each to be voted on separately. The new president, Millard Fillmore, persuaded several Whigs to abstain, or not vote, on the parts they opposed. In the end, Congress passed the Compromise of 1850. One part of the compromise was the Fugitive Slave Act. Anyone who helped a fugitive could be fined or imprisoned. Some Northerners refused to obey the fugitive law. Northern juries refused to convict people accused of breaking the new law. Charitable groups collected money to buy

react to take action in response secede to formally withdraw from an alliance or union

fugitive a person who runs away from legal authority

The Compromise of 1850/The Kansas-Nebraska Act, 1854 As the United States grew, so did the debate over slavery.

Washington Terr. Oregon Terr.

Oregon Territory

Minn. Terr.

Minn. Terr.

Nebraska Territory

Unorg. Territory

N

Utah Territory California (1850)

Utah Territory

Kansas Terr.

E

W

New Mexico Territory

New Mexico Territory

S

PACIFIC OCEAN

ATLANTIC OCEAN

ATLANTIC OCEAN

PACIFIC OCEAN

Free states Slave states Indian territory

Territory open to slaveholding Territory closed to slaveholding

Gulf of Mexico

Gulf of Mexico

MEXICO

0 400 kilometers 400 miles 0 Albers Equal-Area projection

MEXICO

GEOGRAPHY CONNECTION 1. Exploring Place Which territories allowed slavery in 1850? 2. Exploring Regions Which side in the slavery debate lost territory because of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854? McGraw-Hill National Social Studies Map Title: The Compromise of 1850 and The Kansas-Nebraska Act, 1854 File Name: MS_USH_SE_T09_L03_001M Map Size: 41p9 x 17p0 3 rd Proof: 17-Jul-2020

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