Compromise of 1850
I. California became a free state.
II. The rest of the Mexican Cession was divided into two parts; Utah (UT) and New Mexico (NM).
* people in UT and NM used popular sovereignty to decide on the slavery issue
III. The slave trade ended in Washington, D.C.
IV. The Fugitive Slave Law was passed.
• All Americans, by law, were required to help catch runaway slaves.
• You could be fined and/or imprisoned for helping a runaway slave.
• This law infuriated northerners!
Kansas-Nebraska Act
I. The Nebraska Territory was divided into two parts: Nebraska (NE) and Kansas (KS)
II. The people of each territory voted on whether or not to allow slavery. (popular sovereignty)
* The Kansas-Nebraska Act violated the Missouri Compromise. Both territories were north of 36 , 30’ N and should NOT have been allowed to have slaves.
Before the vote on slavery:
• Northerners crossed the border to keep KS a free state.
• Southerners crossed the border to make KS a slave state.
• Both sides claimed victory on the vote!
* In 1856, an abolitionist named John Brown murdered five proslavery men.
* Over 200 people died in the fighting that followed.
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