Holding it Together

This is the situation in 1850. The balance between free states and slave states still holds, with 15 states in each camp. But new territory has just been acquired from Mexico, as the result of the 1848 Mexican War.

There are already settlers in Oregon, which has been acquired from Britain, by compromise. Oregon is now part of the 'unorganized territory' stretching to the northern border. Most of this territory remains unexplored.

Settlers are rushing into all these lands. Gold has been discovered in California, which is now ready to become a new state. The question is how to maintain the balance between Slave and free states.
The Slavery Question, 1850 map

  The Slavery Question
The problem for the South is how to ensure the continued spread of slavery into the wide-open western territories. Pro-slavery states still control both houses of Congress, and the Supreme Court is headed by a Southern slave-holder. But if new western states are admitted as free states, the South could lose control of Congress. 

Compromise of 1850 map

  Maintaining Balance
The Compromise of 1850 attempts to maintain the balance by admitting California as a free state, and allowing settlers in any state formed from former Mexican territory to vote whether to accept or reject slavery. In order to sweeten the deal for the South, a new Fugitive Slave Act is included to help Southerners catch runaway slaves, no matter where they are found. This is an effort to stem the continual stream of escaping slaves, who use a set of trails dubbed the 'Underground Railroad' to reach neutral Canada.


Abolitionists and <i>Uncle Tom's Cabin</i>

  Spark that Ignites a Flame
The Fugitive Slave Act is extreme. It levies enormous, unpayable fines for failure to help capture runaway slaves. But this largely backfires, as Northerners are indignantly resistant. Within a year, 39-year-old Harriet Beecher Stowe (above) publishes a story personalizing the plight of slaves, and portraying slave masters as evil brutes. Called Uncle Tom's Cabin, it becomes the first American publication to go viral. It boosts the cause of 'abolitionists,' who seek to abolish slavery entirely (celebrating, lower right).