Georgia Before the Civil War
What was the Compromise of 1850?
The Compromise of 1850 was a series of laws passed by the United States Congress in an attempt to resolve the territorial and slavery issues that were dividing the country at the time.
The key points of the Compromise of 1850 were:
1. California would be admitted as a free state, which upset the balance between free states and slave states in the Senate.
2. The territories of Utah and New Mexico would be organized under popular sovereignty, meaning that the residents of those territories would decide for themselves whether to allow slavery.
3. The slave trade would be abolished in the District of Columbia, but slavery itself would remain legal there.
4. A more stringent Fugitive Slave Act would be enacted to help southern slaveholders in recapturing escaped slaves.
The Compromise of 1850 was supported by politicians who wanted to preserve the Union and avoid a civil war. However, it was highly controversial and failed to fully satisfy either the Northern or Southern states. The tensions over slavery continued to escalate, ultimately leading to the American Civil War in 1861.