Henry Clay, U.S. senator from Kentucky, was determined to find a solution. In 1820 he had resolved a fiery debate over the spread of slavery with his Missouri Compromise. Now, thirty years later, the matter surfaced again within the walls of the Capitol. But this time the stakes were higher -- nothing less than keeping the Union together. There were several points at issue: Show
� The United States had recently acquired a vast territory -- the result of its war with Mexico. Should the territory allow slavery, or should it be declared free? Or maybe the inhabitants should be allowed to choose for themselves? � California -- a territory that had grown tremendously with the gold rush of 1849, 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: 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. On January 29, 1850, the 70-year-old Clay presented a compromise. For eight months members of Congress, led by Clay, Daniel Webster, Senator from Massachusetts, and John C. Calhoun, senator from South Carolina, debated the compromise. With the help of Stephen Douglas, a young Democrat from Illinois, a series of bills that would make up the compromise were ushered through Congress. According to the compromise, Texas would relinquish the land in dispute but, in compensation, be given 10 million dollars -- money it would use to pay off its debt to Mexico. Also, the territories of New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah would be organized without mention of slavery. (The decision would be made by the territories' inhabitants later, when they applied for statehood.) Regarding Washington, the slave trade would be abolished in the District of Columbia, although slavery would still be permitted. Finally, California would be admitted as a free state. To pacify slave-state politicians, who would have objected to the imbalance created by adding another free state, the Fugitive Slave Act was passed. Of all the bills that made up the Compromise of 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act was the most controversial. It required citizens to assist in the recovery of fugitive slaves. It denied a fugitive's right to a jury trial. (Cases would instead be handled by special commisioners -- commisioners who would be paid $5 if an alleged fugitive were released and $10 if he or she were sent away with the claimant.) The act called for changes in filing for a claim, making the process easier for slaveowners. Also, according to the act, there would be more federal officials responsible for enforcing the law. For slaves attempting to build lives in the North, the new law was disaster. Many left their homes and fled to Canada. During the next ten years, an estimated 20,000 blacks moved to the neighboring country. For Harriet Jacobs, a fugitive living in New York, passage of the law was "the beginning of a reign of terror to the colored population." She stayed put, even after learning that slave catchers were hired to track her down. Anthony Burns, a fugitive living in Boston, was one of many who were captured and returned to slavery. Free blacks, too, were captured and sent to the South. With no legal right to plead their cases, they were completely defenseless. Passage of the Fugitive Slave Act made abolitionists all the more resolved to put an end to slavery. The Underground Railroad became more active, reaching its peak between 1850 and 1860. The act also brought the subject of slavery before the nation. Many who had previously been ambivalent about slavery now took a definitive stance against the institution. The Compromise of 1850 accomplished what it set out to do -- it kept the nation united -- but the solution was only temporary. Over the following decade the country's citizens became further divided over the issue of slavery. The rift would continue to grow until the nation itself divided.
 If you're seeing this message, it means we're having trouble loading external resources on our website. If you're behind a web filter, please make sure that the domains *.kastatic.org and *.kasandbox.org are unblocked. The 1860 presidential election turned on a number of issues including secession; the relationship between the federal government, states, and territories; and slavery and abolition. Candidates had to consider how to hold the nation together when its states were divided about slavery and states' rights; how to resolve questions about federal vs. state power; how to govern the Western territories; and how to respond to extremist abolitionists like John Brown.
Lincoln's careful stance on a variety of issues guided him to a meager victory in a year when the country, and its political parties, were ravaged by a maelstrom of complicated and volatile issues.
Two opponents of slavery, Abraham Lincoln and William Seward, fought for the Republican nomination in 1860. Lincoln advocated a more moderate party plank designed to preserve the Union. Though we remember Lincoln as the president who ended slavery, at the time of his campaign, he vowed not to restrict slavery in states where it was already present, but promised to prohibit expansion in the Western territories. Lincoln also disavowed John Brown. This more moderate position earned Lincoln the
Republican nomination. Like the Republican party, the Democratic party also cracked beneath the weight of the issues at hand. States that favored slavery in the territories walked out of the Democratic convention at Charleston, preventing nominee Stephen Douglas from winning the party endorsement. A reconvened convention eventually nominated Douglas, but kept territory slavery out of the platform
altogether. As a result of disagreements over the issue of slavery, splinter parties formed. The Southern Democratic Party spun off from traditional Democrats to nominate John Breckenridge, an advocate of slavery in the West. Republican breakaways formed the Constitutional Union Party. They nominated John Bell who would not address the issue of slavery at all, but rather spoke of upholding the Constitution. With four candidates in the race, Lincoln won the 1860 election. Remarkably, the election of 1864 was not suspended during the bloody Civil War. Union soldiers were given absentee ballots or furloughed to permit them to vote. With mounting Union victories, the votes of soldiers and the campaign slogan, "Don't switch horses in mid-stream," Lincoln won the election. Consider these questions about Lincoln's presidency:
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Which of the following part of the Compromise of 1850 was the most appealing to the South?The balance of the Senate was now with the free states, although California often voted with the south on many issues in the 1850s. The major victory for the south was the Fugitive Slave Law.
Which of the following policies was implemented as part of the Compromise of 1850?As part of the Compromise of 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act was amended and the slave trade in Washington, D.C., was abolished. Furthermore, California entered the Union as a free state and a territorial government was created in Utah.
Which of the following acts of Congress was declared unconstitutional in the Dred Scott?Furthermore, this decision declared that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional and that Congress did not have the authority to prohibit slavery in the territories. The Dred Scott decision was overturned by the 13th and 14th Amendments to the Constitution.
Which part of Compromise of 1850 was the most appealing to the North?Which of the following parts of the Compromise of 1850 was the most appealing to the North? c. ending the slave trade in Washington D.C. Which of the following ideas is Douglas appealing to when he says, "whether the people of the territories shall be allowed to do as they please upon the question of slavery"?
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