The Compromise Of 1850, And The Kansas-Nebraska Act

Prior to 1820 the free states and slave states were equal in number within the union. That is until 1819 came in which Missouri had requested statehood and to become part of the union. The first attempt to solve this issue of Missouri’s statehood was the Tallmadge Amendment. This amendment was proposed by James Tallmadge and had several provisions. These provisions included not allowing immigration of enslaved people into Missouri and emancipating slaves after the age of 25 but when it was sent to the house of representatives, it failed, turning it into the Missouri Deadlock. So, therefore 3 different plans were executed to try to solve this problem: the Missouri Compromise, the Compromise of 1850, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act.

The first plan

One of these issues was the many conflicting viewpoints of political leaders. Some leaders wanted Wilmot Proviso, banning slavery in the territories. Others wanted to allow slavery in the territories. Political leaders also wanted to keep the Missouri Compromise and just extend the compromise line. The final viewpoint was popular sovereignty, allowing settlers to vote on the issue of the expansion of slavery. Another issue was the California Gold Rush. This gold rush led to California’s population to grow exponentially, allowing them to apply for statehood. California then proceeded to apply for statehood as a free state, upsetting the balance of free states and slave states yet again. Eventually, in 1850, the Compromise of 1850 was enacted. It gave the North California as a free state, the ban of the slave trade in the District of Columbia, and the land that Texas gained from the Mexican Cession was added to New Mexico. This compromise also gave the south a more effective fugitive slave law and the policy of popular sovereignty to decide on slavery in the Utah & New Mexico territories. Finally, it gave Texas 10 million dollars for giving up the claim to the New Mexico

Soon, Northerners began to try to organize Kansas and Nebraska. They wanted the land for farms and a transcontinental railroad that either started or ending in Chicago. On the other hand, however, the Southern senators blocked the attempts to organize this land. Due to this controversial issue, Stephen Douglas proposed the Kansas-Nebraska Act and decided that popular sovereignty would be used to decide on the act. Before the act was accepted or rejected, the north and south both sent groups to Kansas. The north sent Free-Soilers and the south sent Border Ruffians. Then, in 1855, due to fraud and violence, two constitutions were adopted. The first was the Topeka Constitution, which banned slavery. The second was the Lecompton Constitution, which was pro-slavery. Later in 1855, Bleeding Kansas occurred. Bleeding Kansas was an event in which pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces fought for control of Kansas. In May of the following year, a proslavery mob attacked Lawrence, Kansas. The antislavery group that John Brown led killed five proslavery settlers at Pottawatomie Creek. As a reaction to this, Preston Brooks attacked Charles Sumner, knocking him unconscious in the Senate