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The Compromise of 1850 consists of five laws passed that dealt with the issue of slavery. In 1849 California requested permission to enter the Union as a free state, potentially upsetting the balance between the free and slave states in the U.S. Senate. Senator Henry Clay introduced a series of resolutions on January 29, 1850, in an attempt to seek a compromise and avert a crisis between North and South, thus forming the Compromise of 1850

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Texas Surrendering Claim to New Mexico - September, 1850 

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Texas Surrendering Claim to New Mexico - September, 1850 

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As part of the package of the Compromise of 1850, Texas surrendered its claim to New Mexico as well as its claims north of 36 degrees, 30 minutes. However, it retained the Texas Panhandle, and the federal government took over the state's public debt. This was all due to the Mexican War as it brought Texas into the serious conflict with the national government over its claim to New Mexico.

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Law-enforcement officials were required to arrest people suspected to be a runaway slave based on only a person's word. The suspected runaway was not given the opportunity to testify in their defense. Anyone aiding a runaway slave was subject to prison. Officials who did not arrest an alleged runaway slave were then liable to a major fine

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Abolishing of the Slave Trade in Washington D.C - September 20, 1850

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Abolishing of the Slave Trade in Washington D.C - September 20, 1850

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Since the founding of the District of Columbia in 1800, slaves had lived and worked in the nation's capital. They were intended to be property, and could not own property themselves or be a party to a contract. In 1848, around 80 slaves made their way across the National Mall to board a schooner named the Pearl. Congress then ended up abolishing the slave trade as part of a legislative package known as the Compromise of 1850.

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Allowed people in the Kansas and Nebraska territories to decide whether or not they should allow slavery within their borders. This infuriated many in the North due to them thinking that the Missouri Compromise, which prohibited slavery north of latitude 36 degrees, 30 minutes, was a long-standing agreement that was repealed. After this was passed, pro and anti-slavery supporters rushed in to settle Kansas to affect the outcome of the first election, this caused massive outbreaks of fights.

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On March 6, 1857, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Dred Scott, who had resided in a free state, was not entitled to his freedom, and that African Americans were not and could never be citizens of the United States. This also declared that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional and this decision added fuel to the sectional controversy and only pushed the country closer to Civil War.

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This was a series of seven debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas. At the time, US Senators were elected by state legislatures. Because of this, Lincoln and Douglas were trying for their respective parties to win control of the Illinois General Assembly. The seven debates were held in seven towns in Illinois, including, Ottawa, Freeport, Jonesboro, Charleston, Galesburg, Quincy, and Alton. Most of these debates drew large crowds anxious to hear about the issues of slavery, as they were of monumental concern to citizens across the nation.

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A doctrine articulated by Stephen A. Douglas in the second Lincoln-Douglas Debate. When asked by Lincoln if he supported popular sovereignty proposed by the Kansas-Nebraska Act or the majority decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Dred Scott v. Sandford, he responded by stating that despite the court's ruling, slavery could be prevented from any territory by the refusal of the people living in that territory to pass laws favorable to slavery. Likewise, if the people of the territory supported slavery, the legislation would provide for its continued existence.

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In this final debate between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas, Lincoln tried to reconcile his statements on equality. He mentioned that the authors of the Declaration of Independence intended to include all men, but did not mean to declare all men equal in all respects. The men did not mean to say that all men were equal in size, intellect, moral development, social capacity, and of course, skin color. Lincoln contrasted his support for the Declaration with opposing statements made by John C. Calhoun and John Pettit, who called the Declaration "a self-evident lie." Lincoln said that Chief Justice Roger Taney and Stephen Douglas were opposing Thomas Jefferson's self-evident truth, dehumanizing blacks and forming the public mind to think of them only as property.

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The Result of the Lincoln Douglas Debates - 1858

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The Result of the Lincoln Douglas Debates - 1858

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Right after the debates, the results were very inconclusive. However, due to an apportionment that favored Democratic districts, Douglas secured a majority. Nevertheless, in the long run, the debates favored Lincoln and proved fatal to Douglas as Lincoln gained national attention and respect from his performance and became a Presidential contender. Douglas, however, became a scapegoat and helped to split the party and destroyed his Presidential hopes.