Clay's Final Compromise

The American Revolution was symbolic of a breakaway from old ideals and a transition into a new form of government. After being burdened with the heavy taxes imposed by the tyrannical British monarchy, and faced with taxation without representation, the colonists broke off to institute a new set of rules. By asserting their independence from Great Britain, the colonists committed treason and fought for their land. With the Declaration of Independence, these colonies became known as the United States of America. Despite the military force of Britain, America was successful; the citizens established a republican democracy in which everyone’s ideas could be represented in government. In the following years came revisions in the government; the

Following the Mexican-American War, America had gained the Utah and New Mexico territories as well as California from the Bear Flag Revolt. The onset of Manifest Destiny occurred faster than ever before, with territories vying to become full US states. Northerners fought to stop the expansion of slavery, whereas Southerners argued for the opposite. Over the 20 years since Clay’s last compromise, sectional divisions grew worse than ever before seen in the country. Still not having decided his opinion on the issue of slavery, Clay saw how important it was to compromise. He created an omnibus series of bills known collectively as the Compromise of 1850 that were aimed at appeasing both the North and the South. The Compromise of 1850 consisted of four important aspects: California would enter as a free state, the slave trade in Washington D.C. would end, popular sovereignty (the people who lived there) would decide slavery in New Mexico and Utah, and, for the south, a stricter fugitive slave law would be enacted, forcing northern authorities to return escaped slaves to the south. It was not passed in Clay’s lifetime, but its bills were later pushed through by Millard Fillmore after President Zachary Taylor’s death. The Compromise was Henry Clay’s last stand in delaying the onset of the impending Civil

Nowadays, many of our representatives are career politicians who focus on serving our nation for a living. The National Bank of the United States, now called as the Federal Reserve, is still regulating the US cash flow and economic system as a whole. Tariffs are commonly used by our government today, as are federally funded internal improvements, such the Hoover Dam, national highways, and aiding states within repair projects like that of the George Washington Bridge. Although partisanship is extremely high within the Congress, politicians today are still sometimes able to compromise on issues, allowing for each side of an argument to benefit from their decision in one way or another. However, there are still corrupt political bargains that occur in the backdoors of Washington D.C., like that Henry Clay had concocted with John Quincy