III. President Millard Fillmore (1850–1853)

Who was Millard Fillmore?

Zachary Taylor's vice president who became president after Taylor died in 1850. He supported compromise and signed the Compromise of 1850 into law.

What happened to Zachary Taylor in 1850?

He died while president, and Vice President Millard Fillmore succeeded him.

What was the Compromise of 1850?

A series of laws intended to settle the slavery debate following the Mexican-American War and preserve the Union by making concessions to both North and South.

What were the five major parts of the Compromise of 1850?

1. California entered as a free state. 2. The slave trade ended in Washington, D.C. 3. Popular sovereignty would decide slavery in Utah and New Mexico. 4. Texas surrendered disputed land to New Mexico for $10 million. 5. A stronger Fugitive Slave Law was passed.

What did the North gain from the Compromise of 1850?

California entered as a free state, the slave trade ended in Washington, D.C., and the disputed Texas land became part of New Mexico.

What did the South gain from the Compromise of 1850?

A stronger Fugitive Slave Law and the possibility of slavery expanding into Utah and New Mexico through popular sovereignty.

Why was the Compromise of 1850 considered a victory for the North overall?

California became a free state, and much of the land taken from Texas was expected to remain free. However, the stronger Fugitive Slave Law became a major concession to the South.

What was the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850?

A federal law requiring escaped enslaved people to be returned to their enslavers, even if they had reached free states. It imposed harsh penalties on people who helped fugitives escape.

What protections were denied to accused fugitives under the Fugitive Slave Law?

They could not testify on their own behalf or receive a jury trial, and federal commissioners received more money when they ruled in favor of returning an accused fugitive.

What responsibilities did Northerners have under the Fugitive Slave Law?

They could be forced to assist in capturing escaped enslaved people and faced fines or imprisonment for helping fugitives escape or refusing to cooperate.

Why did the Fugitive Slave Law anger many Northerners?

It forced people in free states to participate in slavery, denied accused fugitives basic legal protections, and made it possible for free Black people to be captured and sent into slavery.

What were personal liberty laws?

State laws passed in several Northern states to protect free Black residents and resist federal enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Law, often by restricting state officials' participation in slave-catching.

Why were personal liberty laws controversial?

Southerners argued that Northern states were refusing to obey federal law and violating the Constitution, while Northerners argued that they should not be forced to support slavery.

How did Northern resistance to the Fugitive Slave Law create an ironic states' rights argument?

The North had historically supported a stronger federal government in opposition to Jacksonian states' rights arguments, but now many Northerners invoked states' rights to resist federal enforcement of slavery. The South, which had often defended states' rights, now demanded federal enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Law.

What happened in the Anthony Burns incident of 1854?

Anthony Burns, an escaped enslaved man living in Boston, was captured under the Fugitive Slave Law. Federal authorities used troops to escort him through angry crowds and return him to slavery.

Why was the Anthony Burns incident so significant?

It showed that the federal government would use force to enforce the Fugitive Slave Law even in a strongly antislavery Northern city. It outraged Northerners and convinced many more people to oppose slavery.

How did the Anthony Burns incident affect Northern attitudes toward the Fugitive Slave Law?

It strengthened resistance to the law, increased abolitionist support, and encouraged further Underground Railroad activity and state-level opposition.

Was Anthony Burns's experience part of a broader Northern conflict?

Yes. Resistance to the Fugitive Slave Law occurred in multiple Northern states, not just Massachusetts. Northern communities increasingly resisted federal slave-catching, while the South demanded compliance.

How did the Fugitive Slave Law push some antislavery Northerners toward abolitionism?

People who had previously opposed only slavery's expansion now saw how slavery directly threatened freedom and civil rights in their own states, strengthening their opposition to the institution itself.