Chapter 10 Section 3

New Political Parties

Compromise of 1850

• Henry Clay’s plan for a compromise over the issue of slavery– 5 separate laws– Some favored the North– Some favored the South

List the 5 parts of the Compromise of 1850

• 1. California admitted as a free state

• 2. The sale of slaves, but not slavery itself was made illegal in Washington, D.C.

• 3. Fugitive Slave Act was passed

• 4. New Mexico and Utah would decide on slavery for themselves

• 5. Texas would receive $10 million to settle its border dispute with New Mexico

Fugitive Slave Act

• This law (part of the Compromise of 1850) ordered all citizens of the U.S. to assist in the return of enslaved people who had escaped from their owners– Also denied a jury trial to

escaped slaves

What roles did Senator Calhoun and Senator Webster play in passing the Compromise of 1850?

• Calhoun presented the fears and worries of Southerners, explained that they did not wish to leave the Union, and outlined what the south would need to remain– Wanted government to

respect their right to own “property”

• Webster supported the Compromise, fearing for the existence of the Union– Supported the Fugitive

Slave Act• Angered many

northerners• Made many northern

merchants happy

Nativism

• A movement to ensure that native born Americans received better treatment than immigrants– Arose in response to a

surge in immigration between 1846 and 1854• 3 million Europeans

arrived in the U.S.

Why did some people support the Know Nothing Party?

• Fears and mistrust of immigrants contributed to nativism and the formation of the Know-Nothing Party

Kansas-Nebraska Act

• Supported the practice of popular sovereignty in deciding the issue of slavery in Kansas and Nebraska rather than leaving the decision up to Congress– Proposed by Stephen

Douglas

Popular Sovereignty

• Letting the people in a territory decide whether to allow slavery there

Why did the Kansas-Nebraska Act upset many northern voters?

• They felt that northern Democrats sold out to the South– Did not like the idea of

leaving the possibility of slavery open

How did northern voters respond to the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act?

• Many left the Democratic Party for the New Republican Party– Dedicated to stopping the

power of the slaveholding south

– Declared slavery to be evil– Wanted the Kansas-

Nebraska and Fugitive Slave Acts to be repealed