Chapter 10 Section 3
New Political Parties
Compromise of 1850
• Henry Clay’s plan for a
compromise over the
issue of slavery
– 5 separate laws
– Some favored the North
– Some favored the South
List the 5 parts of the Compromise of
1850
• 1. California admitted as • 4. New Mexico and
a free state
Utah would decide on
slavery for themselves
• 2. The sale of slaves,
but not slavery itself
• 5. Texas would receive
was made illegal in
$10 million to settle its
Washington, D.C.
border dispute with
New Mexico
• 3. Fugitive Slave Act
was passed
Fugitive Slave Act
• This law (part of the
Compromise of 1850)
ordered all citizens of
the U.S. to assist in the
return of enslaved
people who had
escaped from their
owners
– Also denied a jury trial to
escaped slaves
What roles did Senator Calhoun and
Senator Webster play in passing the
Compromise of 1850?
• Calhoun presented the
fears and worries of
Southerners, explained
that they did not wish
to leave the Union, and
outlined what the south
would need to remain
– Wanted government to
respect their right to
own “property”
• Webster supported the
Compromise, fearing for
the existence of the
Union
– Supported the Fugitive
Slave Act
• Angered many
northerners
• Made many northern
merchants happy
Nativism
• A movement to ensure
that native born
Americans received
better treatment than
immigrants
– Arose in response to a
surge in immigration
between 1846 and 1854
• 3 million Europeans
arrived in the U.S.
Why did some people support the
Know Nothing Party?
• Fears and mistrust of
immigrants contributed
to nativism and the
formation of the KnowNothing Party
Kansas-Nebraska Act
• Supported the practice
of popular sovereignty
in deciding the issue of
slavery in Kansas and
Nebraska rather than
leaving the decision up
to Congress
– Proposed by Stephen
Douglas
Popular Sovereignty
• Letting the people in a
territory decide
whether to allow
slavery there
Why did the Kansas-Nebraska Act
upset many northern voters?
• They felt that northern
Democrats sold out to
the South
– Did not like the idea of
leaving the possibility of
slavery open
How did northern voters respond to the
passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act?
• Many left the
Democratic Party for
the New Republican
Party
– Dedicated to stopping
the power of the
slaveholding south
– Declared slavery to be
evil
– Wanted the KansasNebraska and Fugitive
Slave Acts to be repealed