Question

What was the most contentious aspect of the compromise of 1850? explain and defend your answer.

Answer 1

Answer:

The Compromise of 1850 was a series of five laws, adopted in September 1850, which intended to resolve territorial and social disputes related to the slavery issue that arose after the Mexican-American War. These five laws balanced the interests of the slave states in the South and free states in the North: California was admitted to the union as a free state; Texas received financial compensation for waiving territorial claims over the territories west of the Rio Grande, the territories now comprised of New Mexico; New Mexico territory (including today's Arizona and a portion of southern Nevada) was organized without any slavery prohibition; slave trade (not slavery itself) was prohibited in the District of Columbia; and the Fugitive Slave Act was adopted, whereby all American citizens were obliged to help return the slaves to their masters, regardless of the legality of slavery in their states. The compromise also decided on the right of the Kansas and Nebraska territories to decide on slavery through popular sovereignty.

The Compromise temporarily defused strong tensions within the United States, delaying the crisis of secession and the Civil War. The Compromise gave up Wilmot Provision, which did not officially become law, but which would have prohibited slavery in the territories taken over from Mexico.