COMPROMISE OF 1850
The Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850, also known as the Omnibus Bill, was a program of legislative measures enacted by Congress to reconcile the differences existing between the North and South concerning the issue of SLAVERY in newly formed TERRITORIES OF THE UNITED STATES.
The historical background of the enactment of the Compromise involved the increasingly hostile relationship between the northern and southern states of the Union over the existence of slavery. This hostility was partly due to the reluctant enforcement by northern states of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793, which established
procedures for the return of runaway slaves to
their owners. The dissension was exacerbated in
1848 when the United States annexed Texas and
gained new territories under the provisions of
the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which brought
about the end of the Mexican American War.
Abolitionists continued to favor the antislavery
stance of the WILMOT PROVISO prohibiting slav-
ery in the lands acquired from Mexico, which
was proposed in 1846, but was never enacted
into law. The South vehemently opposed the
exclusion of slavery from the new territories.
In 1849 the request of California to join the
Union as a free state resulted in heated debates
on the floor of Congress. Many viewed the situ-
ation as a grave threat to the existence of the
Union. HENRY CLAY returned to the Senate to
propose measures, based upon the ideas of STEPHEN DOUGLAS, that would reconcile the different positions of the North and South. The
proposals included the admission of California
into the Union as a free state, the right of the
New Mexico and Utah territories to determine
the slavery issue for themselves at the time of
their admission to the Union, the outlawing of
the slave trade in the District of Columbia, and
the congressional enactment of the more stringent
FUGITIVE SLAVE ACT OF 1850 (9 Stat. 462).
Due to the efforts of DANIEL WEBSTER and
others, these controversial measures, which initially
caused heated debate, were enacted by
Congress in September 1850. Although labeled a
compromise due to its position on slavery, the
Compromise of 1850 had short-lived effect as a
solution to the issue in light of the subsequent
problems resulting in the enactment of the
KANSAS-NEBRASKA ACT in 1854 (10 Stat. 277)
and the onset of the Civil War less than ten years
later.
CROSS-REFERENCES
“Compromise of 1850” (Appendix, Primary Document).
