Political Issues- A Divided Nation, The Compromise of 1850

By the 1850s the United States had become a nation divided by specific regional identities. The south was pro slavery, and supported the idea of slavery in the new western territories; while the north greatly opposed slavery and its expansion into the west.

The Compromise of 1850 was a set of laws passed dealing with the controversial issue of slavery. It answered the question of how to deal with the new territory acquired from Mexico. It passed a series of five bills. As part of the compromise, California was annexed as a a free state, this upset the balance of free and slave states. Secondly, the New Mexico and Utah territories were given the choice to choose whether or not slavery would be allowed in their borders. The compromise also abolished the slave trade in Washington DC. However, with the passing of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, southern democrats were appeased while the north was outraged.

Map of America after the Compromise of 1850 (mrkash)