Causes Of The Compromise Of 1850

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When Missouri wanted to enter the union as a slave state, conflicts started between Congress and the South. The South began bringing up “ Civil War” and “Secession.” However, they created a compromise known as the Missouri Compromise. The Missouri Compromise allowed Missouri to join the union as a slave state and Maine to join as a free state and preserve the balance of power. Congress also drew an imaginary line across the Louisiana Purchase. Anything above this line would be permitted into the union as a free state (except Missouri) and anything south of the line as a slave state. Most people in the North were happy with this compromise, but enslavers in the South were enraged at the ban on slavery in territories that may want to become states. …show more content…

The Compromise of 1850 was a set of laws made because the Missouri Compromise was no longer a solution. The Compromise of 1850 allowed California to join the union as a free state and Utah and New Mexico to decide whether or not they allowed slavery. The Compromise of 1850 also amended the Fugitive Slave Act and made it easier to reclaim and locate runaway slaves. Enslavers were satisfied with this. However, the North was not.
The North longed for the end of slavery, and the South was worried about the end of slavery. The Compromise of 1850 was only a temporary resolution. Although it was created to ease tensions, these tensions continued to rise, which ultimately led to the Civil War. The circumstance of slavery continued to divide the United States.

Up until this point, the Missouri Compromise determined if states allowed slavery. However, the Kansas-Nebraska Act changed things. The Kansas-Nebraska Act allowed the new territories, Kansas and Nebraska, to determine the allowance of slavery, an idea known as popular sovereignty. The Kansas-Nebraska Act amplified tensions between the North and the South over the issue of slavery, contributing to the Civil War. The Kansas-Nebraska Act was highly debatable because it allowed the possibility that slavery could expand into previously free states. The Kansas-Nebraska Act triggered conflict in the U.S., specifically in Kansas causing Bleeding Kansas. The Kansas and Nebraska Act also