US History
Fort Burrows
16.2 -- The Compromise of 1850
READ pgs 463 –467
Main Idea:
The Compromise of 1850, which was supposed to save the Union,
only inflamed tensions.
Vocabulary:
secede - to withdraw from membership in a group
fugitive - runaway
civil war - war between people of the same country
Compromise of 1850 - agreement over slavery by which California joined the
union as a free state and a strict fugitive slave law
Fugitive Slave Act - law passed in 1850 that required all citizens to aid in the
capture of runaway slaves
Uncle Tom’s Cabin - 1852 novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe written to show the
evils of slavery and the injustice of the Fugitive Slave Act
Setting the Scene:
Tempers in Congress had reached the boiling point. California had applied to
be admitted to the Union as a free state in 1850. Senator Thomas Hurt Benton of
Missouri supported California’s request. He denounced Senator Henry Foote of
Mississippi for opposing California’s admission.
In response, Senator Foote rose angrily, picked up a pistol, and aimed it at
Benton. As other senators watched in horror, Benton turned toward Foote and
roared, “Let him fire. Stand out of the way and let the assassin fire!”
No blood was shed in the Senate that day. However, even as Congress tried to
reach a new compromise, many Americans began to fear that a peaceful solution to the
slavery issue was impossible.
The Slavery Debate Erupts Again
 After the Missouri Compromise, equal amounts of free and slave states entered the
Union
 When California requested entry into the Union as a free state, the balance of
Senate power would once again be threatened
 The balance of power shifts !
Э California’s Impact
 In 1849, 15 free states and 15 slave states: California wanted in as a free state
 California free, possibly Oregon, New Mexico, and Utah – also free states
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 Southerners feared they would soon be outnumbered in the Senate
 Talk was, ‘the Southern states might possibly secede’ from the United States
 Northern congressmen argued that most of the land of California was North of
the Missouri Compromise line; naturally it should be a free state
 The nation was facing a crisis; call out the big-gun compromiser, Henry Clay
Balance of Free and Slave States, 1848
Free States
Slave States


California – 1850 ?
Wisconsin – 1848
Texas – 1845
Iowa – 1846
Florida – 1845
Michigan – 1837
Arkansas – 1836
Maine – 1820
Missouri – 1821
Illinois – 1818
Alabama – 1819
Indiana – 1816
Mississippi – 1817
Ohio – 1803
Louisiana – 1812
Vermont – 1791
Tennessee – 1796
Rhode Island
Kentucky – 1792
New York
Virginia
New Hampshire
North Carolina
Massachusetts
South Carolina
Connecticut
Maryland
New Jersey
Georgia
Pennsylvania
Delaware
.
. Original 13 States
¿¿ Why were both Northerners and Southerners concerned about admitting
California to the Union ?
1.________________________________________________________________________
2.________________________________________________________________________
3.________________________________________________________________________.
Э Clay verses Calhoun
 Henry Clay – ‘the Great Compromiser’; 73 years old, frail and ill, after 30
years, he was still pleading for a nationwide compromise; he warned if they
failed to do so, the nation could breaking apart
 Senator John C Calhoun from South Carolina, also ill - dying of tuberculosis,
opposed a compromise
 He was so weak, he could not speak his defiant speech to the Senate
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 Senator James Mason of Virginia read the speech while Calhoun stared down
his adversaries from the North
 In the speech, Calhoun refused to compromise; he insisted slavery be allowed in
the ‘new’ Western territories and that fugitive slaves be returned to their
owners – slaveholders had a right to their property
 Also, if the North rejected the South’s demands, Calhoun wrote,
“let the states…agree to part in peace. If you are unwilling that we part in
peace, tell us so, and we shall know what to do.”
 All Senators knew what Calhoun meant; if an agreement was not reached, the
South would use force to leave the Union
Э Webster Calls for Unity
 Daniel Webster of Massachusetts supported Clay’s plea to save the Union and
compromise
 His position was clear, “I speak not as a Massachusetts man, nor as a Northern
man, but as an American… I speak today for the preservation of the Union…
There can be no such thing as a peaceable secession.”
Daniel Webster, Speech in the US Senate, July 17, 1850
 Webster feared that the states could not separate without a bloody civil war
 Webster did view slavery as evil, however he believed the breakup of the US
was worse than slavery
 He was willing to compromise and support the second of Calhoun’s demands;
Webster would support that Northerners be forced to return fugitive slaves
¿¿ What were the views of Clay. Calhoun, and Webster ?
Clay______________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
Calhoun__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
Webster__________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________.
Compromise of 1850
 In 1850, as the debate continued, Calhoun died; his final words, “The South! The
poor South! GOD knows what will become of her now!”
 President Taylor also dies in 1850
 New President, #13, Millard Fillmore takes office
 He supported Henry Clay’s compromise
 Fillmore was the last Whig to hold the office of President
Э The Compromise Passes
 After more than 70 speeches in favor of a compromise, Henry Clay was too ill to
continue the fight
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 Stephen Douglas of Illinois took up the compromise fight; he guided Clay’s
compromise through Congress in 1850
 Five parts to the Compromise:
 1st – California enters the Union as a free state
 2nd – Mexican Cession was divided into New Mexico and Utah territories
 3rd – Ended slave trade in Washington, D.C.; Congress would not have the
power to ban slave trade between slave states
 4th – It included a strict fugitive slave law
 5th – It settled a border dispute between Texas and New Mexico; this is how
Texas got its straight-line border to the West
Э Fugitive Slave Act
 Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, 4th on the list, required ALL citizens to help catch
runaway slaves
 Citizens that allowed fugitive slaves to escape could be fined $1000 and go to jail
 Special courts were needed to handle the runaway cases
 No jury trial
 Judges received $10 for each accused runaway returned to the South; only $5
for each ‘falsely’ accused African American set free
 ‘Um! 5-bucks free – 10-bucks guilty, same amount of work’; “Guilty send ‘em
back South, next case….”
¿¿ What was the significance of the Compromise of 1850 ?
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________.
Э Reaction
 Northern citizens were angry with the compromise; they would be forced to
catch human beings; this made them be part of the ‘slave system’
 Some Northern cities tried to rescue fugitive slaves from their captors
 Others did not obey the law and continued helping runaways run to freedom
 This law was hard for Northerners to accept; the more it was enforced, the
more Northerns believed slavery was immoral, evil, and had to end
Uncle Tom’s Cabin: An Antislavery Bestseller
Э A Powerful Story
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Harriet Beecher Stowe, a New England woman,
published a novel in 1852, called Uncle Tom’s
Cabin. She wrote this novel to show the evils of
slavery and the injustice of the Fugitive Slave Act.
Stowe told the story of Uncle Tom, an enslaved
African American noted for his kindness and piety
(devotion and reverence to GOD). Tom’s world
was shattered when he is bought by the brutal
Simon Legree. Tom refused to tell Legree the
whereabouts of two fugitive slaves. Legree
whipped him to death with a bull whip. He was
after all, Legree’s property.
This book had wide appeal among Northern
readers. The 1st printed sold out in just two days.
The book sold millions of copies and was translated
into dozens of languages.
Э Nationwide Reaction
 Northerners liked the book, Southerns objected ( NO DOUBT )
 Southerners claimed it was not a true picture of slave life; after all, Stowe had
seen very little of slavery firsthand
 This book helped change the way Northerners saw slavery
 They no longer relied on Congress to solve the ‘political’ problem of slavery
 ‘Slavery became a moral problem facing every American’
1. Why did the slavery debate erupt again in 1850 ?
__________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________.
2. What was the impact of the Compromise of 1850 ?
1st_______________________________________________________________________
2nd______________________________________________________________________
3rd a._____________________________________________________________________
b._____________________________________________________________________
th
4 ______________________________________________________________________
5th ______________________________________________________________________
3. How did Uncle Tom’s Cabin, written by Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852, affect
attitudes toward slavery ?
__________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________.
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