How Did Henry Clay Came Up With A Compromise

On January 29, 1850, Henry Clay, A 70-year-old man, came up with a compromise. Which included an act the could cause many issues for the American Government. This act was called the Fugitive Slave Act, “It required citizens to assist in the recovery of fugitive slaves. It denied a fugitive's right to a jury trial” (PBS: The Compromise). This act made it even more difficult for slaves to ever become free. It forced them to travel all the way to Canada instead of closer free states to find freedom. Even though it was part of a compromise between the North and the South act favored the South.

In 1820, the Missouri Compromise was created to help resolve the debate over the border of slave and free state. It only lasted for about thirty years before the South and North started to debate over what was a free state and slave state over the new territory on the West Coast. So, when California was named a free state slave-owner politician thought that that would cause an imbalance. So, the Fugitive Slave Act was passed to restore a balance and please the South. Since Washington, D.C. was a known slave state that had one of the largest slave market in the United States. Many slaves use to travel in the Underground Railroad to the North to earn their freedom. Which caused many problems for slave owners

So, they can enforce the law and force northern people to take African American back to the South. The act helped save the South from losing many slaves. It helped them capture a few free African Americans and turn them into slaves. After the act was forced to be enforced about “343 African Americans appeared before federal commissioners. Of those 343 people, 332 African Americans were sent to slavery in the South” (Akron Rubber Strike). It started to become the most enforced law within the United States before the Civil