Study GuideU.S. History I–From Compromise to Crisis1.Compromise of 1850The Compromise of 1850 attempted to address theslavery issue in the territories acquired fromMexicoand to reduce sectional tensions, but it ultimately highlighted the deepening divide betweenNorth and South.1.1Background•California was ready forstatehood, which threatened the balance between free and slavestates.•PresidentZachary Taylorhad little political influence.•Henry Claywas tasked with devising a compromise, drawing on his experience with theMissouri Compromise (1820) and the Nullification Crisis (1830s).1.2Clay’s Omnibus Bill (January 1850)Clay proposed asingle package of resolutionsaddressing multiple issues:1.Californiaadmitted as afree state2.New Mexico and Utahorganized as territories; slavery decided bypopular sovereignty3.Slave trade abolished(but not slavery itself) in theDistrict of Columbia4.Fugitive Slave Lawstrengthened5.Congress wouldnot interferein the interstate slave trade6.Texas-New Mexico boundarysettled; U.S. assumed $10 million of Texas debtOutcome:The omnibus bill initiallyfailed, because all measures had to pass together.1.3Stephen Douglas and the Final Compromise•SenatorStephen Douglassplit the omnibus bill intofive separate laws, each of whichpassed independently:Preview Mode
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