Topic: Compromise
When California applied for statehood in 1849, Southern politicians became worried that if California were admitted to the Union as a free state, it would set precedent for Congress to be able to disallow slavery in the western territories. In order to calm these concern, Senator Henry Clay formulated another compromise called the Compromise of 1850. This comprised of five separate bills, each addressing a separate condition to the compromise. The first condition was that California would be allowed entry to the union as a free state. The second was that the remaining lands acquired during the Mexican-American war would be divided into two separate and territories and their slave status then would be determined only when
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The party was founded on anti-slavery advocates, dissatisfied former members of the Whig and Democratic political party. The Free Soil Party was lead by former Democrat Martin Van Buren who tried to exploit the Wilmot Proviso to advance his campaign. Although it is said that the party took an antislavery stance, they were not staunch abolitionist. Instead they did wanted slavery to remain in territories where it already existed. They tried to advocate against the advancement of slavery in the newly acquired western territories. In their opinion, the west should facilitate the extension and growth of the Market Revolution and be available to only white farmers. The Free Soil Party also served as a political refuge to politicians who were not happy about the party’s decisions. Although the Free Soil Party never won any electoral votes and thus never held office, they were instrumental in latter events in American politics. One such even is the Compromise of 1850 where the party provided resistance to then slave owner and president Zackary Taylor. IN the late 1850s the party became the early Republican Party that we know