The Compromise of 1850 was a sequence of give-and-take measures presented for approval before the U.S Congress, on January 29th 1850. It is made up of five laws voted for in September 20th, 1850 that were geared towards achieving specific goals. On December 3rd 1849, California put a request to join the Union under the banner of a free state. This was a disastrous move that had serious repercussions in that it could have upset the delicate balance that existed between those states that condoned slavery and those that did not. The Senator from Kentucky, Henry Clay brought to house a series of decrees on January 29, 1850, in his quest for a middle ground between the North and the South and in order to forestall a potential crisis .
The Compromise of 1850 entailed the amendment of the Fugitive Slave Act as well as the abolishment slave trade in Washington, D.C. moreover; the state of California was allowed to join the Union as a free state. There was also the creation of a territory known as Utah which comprises present day states of Utah, Nevada, Colorado and Wyoming. In addition to this, Congress passed a resolution that settled a boundary dispute between the States of Texas and New Mexico. A territorial government for State of New Mexico was also established by the Act .
The Compromise of 1850 was significant in that it led to the increase of the continental America’s land mass, through the addition of new territories. It led to improvement in the plight slaves in the country, especially in the north, where slavery was outlawed. The Compromise of 1850 is thought to have forestalled the American Civil War for at least ten years, by some quarters while it remains the opinion of a section of the academia that the Acts known collectively by this name could have been one of the causes for the war.
These Acts were perceived to be in favor of the South, creating a rift between it and the North. It entrenched slavery in the South while forcing the Northern people to hunt for slaves that had escaped into their territory. This particular clause particularly angered the North since the abolitionists were opposed to doing the dirty work on behalf of the South.
It is a widely held belief that the Compromise of 1850 was able to delay the American Civil War for a number of years. On the other hand, it also managed in succeeding to further widen the chasm that existed between the North and South. Particularly, the issue of the amendment of the Fugitive Slave Act was disliked by many northerners. The law exacerbated the tension that existed between the two regions that arose especially with calls for secession by the South. Moreover, the postponement of the imminent warfare created an enabling environment that allowed the people in the North to expand their industrialization programs and register a rapid growth in population. There was a notable growth in the count of factories and in steel production. This rapid growth would in the later days provide the North with the right machinery for the production of arsenal that would help it win against the South during the Civil War. Thus, the Compromise of 1850 proved important in a number of ways in shaping of American history.
Works Cited
Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Compromise of 1850." 4 May 2012. Encyclopaedia Britannica. 16 December 2012.
Library of Congress. "Primary Documents in American History; Compromise of 1850." 30 June 2010. the Library of Congress; Virtual Services Digital Refence Section. 16 December 2012.
