By: Saarah Amin, Batoul Kooli,Shahad Abdulsahib.

The Debate Over Slavery

The Expansion of Slavery

After the Mexican War, more than 500,000 square miles of land was added to the United States.

Slavery became an issue because nobody had decided if the land was slave states or free states.

President James K Polk wanted to divide the Mexican Cession into free states and slave states.

Some Northerners wanted to prohibit slavery in the Mexican Cession.

The Wilmot Proviso

The Wilmot Proviso was proposed during the Mexican War by David Wilmot.

It stated that slavery would never exist in the Mexican Cession. The House of Representatives passed the proviso. It died in the Senate because the south had more power. The Wilmot Proviso never became a law.

The Free Soil Party

The Free Soil Party was formed in 1848. The Free Soilers supported the Wilmot Proviso. Martin Van Buren was chosen as the Free Soil Party candidate. The new party one 10% of the popular vote. It consisted of Whig Party members and Democratic Party members. In 1854, the Whigs alliance with the Free Soilers was broken. This was

how the party came to an end.

The Compromise of 1850

5 different things happened during the Compromise of 1850. They were:1. 1. California entered the union as a free state.2. 2. New Mexico and Utah were allowed to choose whether they wanted

to be free states or slave states.3. 3. The Republic of Texas would be given $10 million to pay off their debt

to Mexico.4. 4. Trading slaves was abolished in Washington DC.5. 5. The fugitive slave act made any federal official liable to pay a fine if

they didn’t arrest an escaped slave. This compromise was established by Henry Clay.

Henry Clay

Henry Clay established many of the compromises that took place.

He established the Missouri Compromise, The Nullification Crisis, and The Compromise of 1850.

He was eventually nicknamed “ The Great Compromiser.”

He supported the emancipation of slaves.

The Fugitive Slave Act It was a law that made federal officials have to pay a fine if they didn’t

arrest an escaped slave. Any official who arrested an escaped slave was paid 10 dollars. Anthony Burns was one of the slaves that was arrested during this time. Abolitionists nicknamed this act “The Bloodhound Law”, because

bloodhounds were used to track down escaped slaves.

Daniel Webster Daniel Webster agreed with the Fugitive Slave Act. One of his most important speeches was “March the Seventh”. In it he

expressed his opinion of the Fugitive Slave Act. He was later attacked by abolitionists who called him evil, mean, and

cruel. He ran for president in 1852, but died right before the election.

Citation US History Textbook. "The History of the United States of America ⢠Us-history.com." � The

History of the United States of America ⢠Us-history.com� . Web. 18 Apr. 2012. <http://www.us-history.com>.

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"The American History Company." The American History Company. Web. 18 Apr. 2012. <http://www.americanhistory.com>.