HIST 405 Week 4 Discussion; From Stepping Stones to the American Civil War to Reconstruction - The Compromise of 1850, The Fugitive Slave Law of 1850

Good Evening Professor and Classmates, This week I have chosen to discuss: The Compromise of 1850, The Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 and the Lincoln Douglas Debates of 1858. I do believe that these events had major incorporations to the American Civil War. They all had to do with the issue of slavery in the United States and where it should be allowed and whether it should be continued or abolished. The Compromise of 1850 was a plan for temporary political peace. It was originally proposed by the republican senator Henry Clay, which consisted of 5 bills and was a compromise between the north and south and the spread of slavery (Editors of Heritage Society, 2019). The overall goal of the Compromise was to avoid any sort of conflict and to keep the country together as equals (Editors of Heritage Society, 2019). The plan ended up with a gain of many benefits for the north and the south. California is known as the 16th Free State and part of the Union (USHistory, 2019). The trading of slaves is now illegal in Washington DC, but you people can still own slaves, while Texas lost territory and gained 10 million to pay off debt from the ending of the Mexican-American War (Corbett & Janssen, 2019). With both the north and south not agreeing on the topic of slavery and the creation of the Fugitive Slave Law it was a moving factor during the Civil War. The Fugitive Slave Law was a major conflict between the northern and southern states. The northerners and southerners didn't have the same viewpoints on slavery. The north would assist the slaves that were running away to go north (Corbett & Janssen, 2019). This law would implement large fines and prison sentences to any one that assisted the runaway slaves. The northerners didn’t agree with this law and felt it was against their beliefs to capture people or slaves against their will and returning them to their owners. With the creation of this law, there came a group of federal commissioners that were given the power to decide the outcome of the fugitives when they were brought to them (Corbett & Janssen, 2019). This law triggered many reactions from the north abolitionists who believed that in order to stand against the law violence was needed (Corbett & Janssen, 2019). In many of the northern states the abolitionists attempted to protect the fugitives from the federal authorities, they would have mass demonstrations at the courthouse for it. The largest outcome of the Fugitive Slave Law was the foundation of the novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” by Harriet Beecher Stowe that was the compilation of slave stories, and the idea that slavery was both a sin and ended up broken families from each other (Corbett & Janssen, 2019). The Lincoln Douglas Debates was a series of meetings that occurred between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas regarding slavery and the extension of it into newer territories (USHistory, 2019). Lincoln was nominated