In 1850 the United States found itself faced with a growing sectional crisis.
This rift was the result of several controversial matters that had been simmering in Congress for years: California, the Mexican Cession, and the fugitive slave laws.
The Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise had established a balance between free and slave states, but it was no longer enough to prevent a serious rift over territorial expansion. The acquisition of lands from Mexico by the United States during the Mexican-American War added to the tension. Southerners argued that the new territories should be opened to slavery, while antislavery Northerners insisted that they should be closed to it.
President Zachary Taylor and Compromise
A solution to the problem was needed, and President Zachary Taylor hoped that a compromise could be negotiated in Congress. He drew up several proposals that could address the region's concerns and ensure that the United States remained united. Kentucky senator Henry Clay, the "great compromiser," offered a series of resolutions that could limit the spread of slavery and preserve the status of the United States as a nation of free states. The debate began in earnest, as members of both parties presented their cases to Congress.
The Polarization and Abolitionist Movement
Pro and anti-slavery attitudes polarized, with many northerners becoming convinced of the need to abolish slavery entirely in the United States. Abolitionists became more determined to bring about the end of slavery than they had previously been, and the Underground Railroad reached its peak between 1850 and 1860.
The Compromise of 1850 and Fugitive Slave Act
The Compromise of 1850 was passed in order to settle several outstanding slavery issues and to avert the threat of dissolution of the Union. It included several measures that would address these issues, including the enactment of the Fugitive Slave Act. This law imposed heavy fines and prison sentences on individuals in the North who aided runaway slaves or refused to join posses that were supposed to return them to their owners. Moreover, it denied fugitives the right to trial by jury.
Resentment and Polarization
As a result, many northerners resented the Fugitive Slave Act. They saw it as proof of a slave-power conspiracy and believed that elite slaveholders disproportionately controlled American policy.
The Growing Gap and Imminent Conflict
Despite the polarization, President Taylor was able to negotiate the Compromise of 1850, which settled many of the region's lingering problems and kept the United States united for a decade. However, the gap between the North and the South was widening and a conflict was imminent. By 1852, the nation was on the verge of civil war, with southerners preparing for secession and the North readying itself to fight for its freedom. The Civil War was a bitter, bloody battle that pitted the North against the South.
Debates, Public Interest, and Continuing Resistance
The debates in Congress were often spirited and heated, causing arguments to devolve into fistfights or worse. Throughout these discussions, the public watched eagerly, anxious to see how these disputes would be resolved. After the Compromise of 1850, slavery was allowed in the District of Columbia, but only as long as it was legal in the existing states. The enactment of the Fugitive State Act also made abolitionists more determined to end slavery and to create the Underground Railroad.
