Overview
The Compromise of 1850 balanced the interests of the slave states of the South and the free states to the north for four years, holding the Union together.
The Compromise of 1850
Map of the Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was a combination of five bills
- California entered the Union as a free state
- Popular sovereignty were upheld in New Mexico & Utah
- Texas & New Mexico settled disputes about border
- Fugitive Slave Act becomes Fugitive Slave Law
- Slave trade is banned in Washington, D.C., the nation's capitol
-These bills reduced tension and confrontation (for 4 years) between the slave states of the South & the free states of the North regarding the status of territories acquired during the Mexican-American War (1846-1848)
-The North & the South still see each other as separate throughout the 1850's because of questions surrounding the expansion of slavery and the rights of slave owners
-The Compromise of 1850 postponed the Civil War, but did not prevent it!