N the South, planters shifted operations (and slaves) from the poor soils of the Southeast to the rich cotton lands of the Southwest. Issues of slavery in the new territories acquired in the War with Mexico (which ended in 1848) were temporarily resolved by the Compromise of 1850. One provision, the Fugitive<span> Slave Law, ...</span>
Even though this territory was claimed by Texas and Mexico, the territory between the Nueces River and the Rio Grande was controlled by Comanche Indians.