The Compromise of 1850:

How it Changed History

Hannah Day

American History

Mr. Duncan

February 8, 2018
 The Compromise of 1850 was said to solve the conflict between the North and the South

during the mid-19th century, but did it really solve anything, just put a large bandage on an even

larger problem. The five original resolutions that made up the Compromise were simple yet

complicated. The first three resolutions talk of state issues and the other two talked about issues

regarded slavery. The Compromise went over well with the North and South but as President

Abraham Lincoln said during his presidency, after the Compromise, a country that is divided

cannot stand. And he was right, 10 years after the entire Compromise became the U.S. Civil War

began over very similar problems. Even a few centuries later the Compromise seems to be a

gigantic bandage that lets some problems fester underneath. The Compromise of 1850 partially

solve issues regarding the states of Texas, California and Utah but most definitely not the issues

regarding slavery, really only becoming a large bandage for someone to deal with later.

The five original resolutions, of the Compromise of 1850, dealt with state issues and

slavery issues. The resolutions regarding the states mostly solved the issues they addressed. The

first resolution dealt with Texas, dealing with the state’s boundary “The State of Texas will agree

that her boundary [...]” Before this resolution was accepted by Congress, the State of Texas was

fighting with the United States Government over how much of land was part of Texas. The

border was unclear so it became a rising issue. These Resolutions also solved some underlying

debts that Texas owed to the United States; “The State of Texas cedes to the United States all her

claim to territory exterior to the limits and boundaries which she agrees to establish by the first

article of this agreement.” With this new boundary set, some of the land that was once Texas’s

became part of the State of New Mexico. In return Texas got $10 million from the U.S.

government. 1

1
The Compromise of 1850-"Transcript of Compromise of 1850 (1850)." Our Documents -
Transcript of Compromise of 1850 (1850). Accessed January 08, 2018.
 Another major act from The Compromise of 1850 admitted the State of California into

the union; The State of California from then on have the same amount of power and as much f a

voice as any other state in the U.S. The state of California was a territory that quickly became a

state in 1850. In 1849 California was in a gold rush so it quickly became populated when the

word got out that there was gold in California. Mostly miners fled to the so called gold enriched

state, merchants and traders also fled to California to get the big scores on the gold miners.

California, before becoming a state, was a mad place with drunken mobs and little to no

authoritative figures at all. During this time of dwindling hope of getting California back on its

feet the situation was as follows; “what order had remained after the mexican withdrawal had

disintegrated into a Hobbesian free-for-all. San Francisco was in the grip of a brutal outfit known

as the "Hounds," most of whose member were graduates of New York's notorious Bowery gangs,

and openly held court in a tent the dubbed "Tammy Hall." In the mining camps, police power,

such as it was, lay in the hands of exhausted, overwrought, often drunken mobs festooned with

six-shooters and bowie knifes.” Between the the drunks and regular crime, with the cops not

being much more than the criminals themselves, California was a mining drunk mob. It was even

said that “rarely a day passes that some are not killed.” Some interesting incidents that involved

the recklessness and chaos is when “Gold seekers overran John Sutter's land, ran off his

livestock, trampled his cows and tore down his fences for firewood." Another incident was "an

Irishman demoted as a thief was given the choice of three punishments: hanging, five hundred

lashes, or the amputation of his ears. When he collapsed after just fifty lashes his ears were

hacked off any way.” California was admitted as a free state into the union in 1850 because the

merchants and mines didn’t really have slaves but they certainly didn’t want the competition of

having them around or stealing your gold. Because California became a free state there was once
again an unbalance of power in the united states congress. Now there are more senators who are

more likely to vote against the issue of slavery. Along with the State of California, the State of

Utah was admitted as a State of the United States; the State of Utah will know have a part in this

country and a voice in the U.S. government along with the right to popular sovereignty. The

Resolution also deals with how the state government will be run.2

The last two acts deal with slavery. The first one was “the Fugitive Slaves Act." It states

the states “shall from time to time enlarge the number of commissioners, with a view to afford

reasonable facilities to reclaim fugitives from labor, and to the prompt discharge of the duties

imposed by this act.” This means even if there is a commissioner or person in power that denies

you your right to reclaim a runaway slave you are able to any way. The commissioner will be

fired as soon as possible. The last resolution states; “it shall not be lawful to bring into the

District of Columbia any slave whatever, for the purpose of being sold, or for the purpose of

being placed in depot, to be subsequently transferred to any other State or place to be sold as

merchandize.” This law states that it is unlawful to sell or merchandize slaves in Washington

D.C. but it does not ban them from the Washington D.C.The resolutions dealt with a lot of issues

countrywide.3

During the roughly year long time period it took Congress to pass the bills, the states

were growing even more impatient. “The situation in California, meanwhile, was growing more

dire by the month,” said G. A. Sage from the Southern Press in D.C. is just one of the few

examples of how impatient and worried citizens would be that the Compromise wouldn't be
2
The Compromise of 1850-"Transcript of Compromise of 1850 (1850)." Our Documents -
Transcript of Compromise of 1850 (1850). Accessed January 08, 2018.
California's situation-Bordewich, Fergus M. America's great debate: Henry Clay, Stephen A.
Douglas, and the compromise that preserved the Union. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2012.
3
The Compromise of 1850-"Transcript of Compromise of 1850 (1850)." Our Documents -
Transcript of Compromise of 1850 (1850). Accessed January 08, 2018.
accepted. The stately issues were not the only resolutions questioned. When the Compromise

was seen by the public, there were mixed feeling about how legit this really was; “ Did Congress

have the power to regulate or prohibit slavery in the territories?” and how much was congress in

general was going to push for anti slavery. Without a resolution at hand it became even clearer

that “The gap between the South and North, proslavery and antislavery, yawed wider ever,” said

Fergus M. Bordewich, he was talking about how that the Compromise may have fixed

somethings but distanced Congress and American citizens. This pressure with the bills made a

lot of people question how good Congress really was and made people doute Congress often.4

After the entire Compromise was made into law, on September 20, 1850, issues seem to

look up and Americans could breathe again. The Compromise like a bandage, that only helps

with the pain for so long before it becomes useless and it is better to just take it off. When the

Compromise was signed into law by Millard Fillmore, people started to feel that, “Well, after the

bill had passed, the country was safe…,” explained an American to a reporter in 1851, from

destroying itself. Americans could finally relax and figure out what was going in the

government. Citizens began to blame Congress for their problems and placing all blame for the

nation’s divisions on the Senators and Representatives. “Do you remember that not a single

senator or Representative could be found to speak in-their favor…,” said a elderly man to a

reporter one day, in their states favor the distrust in the Senators and Representatives placed

blame and ungodlike gifts upon them. “God had not gifted, these men with the power to look

into futurity, and see that the measures which could save the Union,” so therefore Americans felt

as if can not be a true fix to save the union, only a bandage, and they were right. As explained in
4
The Compromise of 1850-"Transcript of Compromise of 1850 (1850)." Our Documents -
Transcript of Compromise of 1850 (1850). Accessed January 08, 2018.
The Crises Situations- Remini, Robert Vincent. At the edge of the precipice: Henry Clay and the
compromise that saved the Union. New York: Basic Books, 2010.
newspapers Americans also thought that “the length and breadth of the land, then the

Compromise measures were passed, not because they had been originated by Mr. Clay,

However; not because they had been sustained and upheld by his match less eloquence and

enthusiasm petty malice was at work, and they were split up and passed only as separate bills.”

explained G. A. Sage in one of his issues on Henry clay and what he did for the Compromise of

1850.5

The Compromise of 1850 was created to solve conflict with in the United States of

America. The Compromise of 1850 became more of a bandage then a permanent fix. And

because the Compromise was just a bandage, problems festered and grew until eventually the

Civil War broke out 10 years later. The Compromise solved issues of state lines in Texas along

with Texas’s state debt. California on the other hand was admitted into the union to solve

ongoing conflict with utter chaos and unorderly conduct in the State of California. The

Compromise of 1850 also dealt with slavery issues, for instance whether a state would be free of

slavery or a slave state. Also dealing with mending and bring back the Fugitive slave act. Slavery

was also banned in the District of Columbia. The country as a whole thought that the

Compromise was a good thing for our country. Most people agreed with the restrictions, it was a

Compromise after all and not everyone can have it their way. The overall effect of the

Compromise was solving and bettering improving a dangerous situation. But all it was, was a

temporary fix.

5
The Compromise of 1850-"Transcript of Compromise of 1850 (1850)." Our Documents -
Transcript of Compromise of 1850 (1850). Accessed January 08, 2018.
The Crises Situations- Remini, Robert Vincent. At the edge of the precipice: Henry Clay and the
compromise that saved the Union. New York: Basic Books, 2010.
How the people feel-"The daily dispatch. (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, April 15, 1856, Image
1." News about Chronicling America RSS. Accessed January 08, 2018.