UNIT 10 – THE CIVIL WAR – HW 1 – THE COMPROMISE OF 1850 – DUE _________________________________________________
TASK – Create a poster showing the reasons for and agreements made under the Compromise of 1850.
Free States/Territory.
Slave States/Territory.
Open Territory
NAME _________________________________________________ CLASS _____ SCORE _____/100
NEATNESS
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 CONTENTS
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 SUMMARIZING 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ILLUSTRATION 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
THE COMPROMISE OF 1850
The victory of the United States in the Mexican-American War reignited
tensions between the northern and southern states over the issue of
slavery. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo had given the United States a
huge amount of new land. Antislavery forces wanted the entire territory to
be free land in which slavery would be outlawed. Proslavery forces
furiously protested this.
INSTRUCTIONS
1
In 1849 California applied to join the Union as a free state. Southern
states united in opposition to this as it would have upset the delicate
balance between the free and slave states. Many southern states
threatened to leave the Union if California were admitted.
Senator Henry Clay, who had been the main author of the earlier Missouri
Compromise came up with another agreement in an effort to keep the
country together. The Compromise of 1850 contained a number of
measures designed to give both sides some of what they wanted.
In the first part of the Compromise California was to be admitted as a Free
State. The rest of the Mexican Cession would be open territory in which a
popular vote would decide whether slavery would be legal or illegal.
The Compromise of 1850 also banned the slave trade in Washington D.C.
Antislavery groups were pleased that chained slaves would no longer be
marched in front of the Capitol building and the White House. At the same
time a more effective fugitive slave law was passed that pleased the
southern states as it would make it easier for them to recapture escaped
slaves.
2
3
4
5
6
7
MAP – Show the areas of land where slavery was legal, illegal, and to be
voted on.
1 – Create a title for your poster.
2 – Describe the effect of the Mexican-American War.
3 – Describe why the admission of California was a problem.
4/5/6/7 – Describe the four different measures contained in the
Compromise of 1850.