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How Did Clay Win The Civil War

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In 1849 upon his reelection into the Senate, Clay arrived during a time of turmoil in Congress. California was in the middle of the gold rush trying to become a free state. Utah and New Mexico wanted to become US territories, but were having a hard time deciding on whether or not to be slave states or Free states. Texas was also in disputes with New Mexico regarding territory. The North wanted to ban slavery in all states won from the Mexican Cession, while the South wanted to enact new laws on fugitive slaves who escaped; the South also threatened seceding from the Union yet again. Unable to watch his beautiful Union crumble, Clay began solving the problems between the North and the South with a compromise. Clay stated that California would become part of the Union as a free state and organize New Mexico and Utah as territories without any slavery restrictions. …show more content…

Even with this great compromise, the North and the South still found it difficult to agree with another and were beginning to spiral out of control. Almost on the verge of war Clay decided he needed a strategy in order to beat the North and South at their own game. Instead of making his comprises one big bill, he split it into five groups, therefore making it impossible for both sides to turn it down completely. They would be able to vote against the five bills they liked and disliked without voting completely against one big bill. In August and September, the Senate and the House voted to approve all of Clay’s five bills; which became the Comprise of 1850. Keeping the Union together was Henry Clay’s last great achievement before his death in

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