21 The Compromise of 1850

Compromise of 1850

A series of legislative measures that aimed to resolve the deadlock over California's status regarding slavery.

California's admission as a free state

Pleased the North, as it balanced the free and slave states in Congress.

Fugitive Slave Act

A law that required the return of runaway enslaved people and penalized those who helped them escape.

Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin

A novel that revealed the brutal realities of slavery, intensifying conflicting views on slavery.

Ostend Manifesto

A document proposing the acquisition of Cuba to expand slavery, leaked in 1854.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

Legislation that allowed settlers to vote on slavery in Kansas and Nebraska, effectively repealing the Missouri Compromise.

Political impact of the Whig Party

Diminished due to moral objections to slavery following the Compromise of 1850.

Response to the Fugitive Slave Act in the North

Northerners were resistant to enforcing the Fugitive Slave Act.

Scott v. Sandford

A significant court case reflecting tensions over slavery and legal rights of enslaved individuals.

Bloodshed in Kansas

Violence resulting from the conflict over whether Kansas would allow slavery after the Kansas-Nebraska Act.