Chapter Four: Texas, Mexico, and the Compromise of 1850 - Vocabulary Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards focusing on terms, people, and events surrounding the Compromise of 1850 and the political realignments of the era.

Compromise of 1850

A package of five bills designed to resolve sectional conflicts after the Mexican-American War, including California’s admission as a free state, the Texas–New Mexico border adjustment, organization of New Mexico and Utah as territories with slavery to be decided later, the Fugitive Slave Law, and abolition of the slave trade in the District of Columbia.

Armistice of 1850

David Potter’s label for the Compromise of 1850, suggesting it postponed a larger crisis rather than truly resolving the sectional conflict.

Five separate bills (1850)

The five acts passed in 1850: admission of California as a state; adjustment of the Texas border; organization of New Mexico and Utah with slavery to be decided at admission; a stringent Fugitive Slave Law; abolition of the slave trade in the District of Columbia.

California admitted as a free state

California entered the Union as a free state; its voters nonetheless sent many pro-compromise representatives and senators to Washington.

New Mexico and Utah territories

Territories organized with the provision that slavery would be determined by their future state constitutions at admission, effectively leaving the decision to future states and described as a hollow victory for the South.

Texas border adjustment

The Texas boundary was adjusted in New Mexico’s favor, and Texas was compensated with money to finance its public debt.

Fugitive Slave Law (1850)

A stringent federal law requiring the return of escaped slaves, contributing to deep Northern–Southern tensions.

Abolition of the slave trade in the District of Columbia

The slave trade was abolished in DC, though the buying and selling of slaves within the District itself was not completely ended.

Georgia Platform

A December 1850 platform adopted by Georgia Unionists, pledging to abide by the Compromise as a permanent adjustment and promoting Unionism.

Unionism

A stance favoring preservation of the Union and a willingness to accept a political settlement rather than pursue disunion.

Nashville Convention

A June 1850 Southern convention billed as a fire-eaters’ gathering that ultimately failed to ignite secession or unify extreme actions.

Millard Fillmore

President who succeeded Taylor, supported the Compromise, used influence to reduce opposition, and described the Compromise as a final and irrevocable settlement.

Stephen A. Douglas

Democrat from Illinois who replaced Clay as leader of the pro-compromise bloc and pursued separating the package into individual parts to gain passage.

Henry Clay

Senator who proposed the Compromise and chaired the Committee of Thirteen; his strategy was to win passage by approving the parts separately, rather than enacting the whole package at once.

Zachary Taylor

President who favored admitting California and New Mexico as states with no concessions to the South; died in 1850, allowing Fillmore to push the Compromise forward.

Barnburners

A faction of the Democratic Party in the 1848–1850 era, originally anti-slavery; by 1851 most returned to the party; their stance influenced the 1852 election dynamics.

Free Soilers

A political group opposing the expansion of slavery into new territories; they denounced the Compromise and advocated limiting slavery’s reach.

John P. Hale

Free Soil candidate for president in 1852; denounced the Compromise, advocated abolition, and opposed future slave-state admissions.