Missouri Compromise and Compromise of 1850

Missouri Compromise:

In the years prior to the Missouri Compromise slavery was a tensed topic. Many states thought that slavery should be abolished while others disagreed. What really set off the balance between the states was when Missouri asked to become part of the nation in 1819. There had to be a balance between "free" states and slave states. By letting Missouri join as a slave state, the balance would be upset. The decision on whether or not to let Missouri in as a slave state lasted from December 1819 to March 1820. In the end, Missouri was allowed to join the nation as a slave state if Maine joined as a free state. In addition, slavery was abolished in lands that were part of the Louisiana Purchase. To keep the peace a territory line was created to make a boundary between slave and free states. All twenty-two states would be balanced and even because of the boundaries.

Compromise of 1850:

Years after the Missouri Compromise was settled, the issue of slavery came up again in 1850. The problem started in 1846 when the U.S went to war with Mexico. The war lasted from 1846 to 1848 and in the end, the U.S won. The Treaty of Guadeloupe Hidalgo ended the war and gave the U.S 500,000 square miles of territory which included the present-day states of Arizona, New Mexico, California and Texas. The U.S also became stronger and more powerful because of this win. With all their new land, the U.S was unsure on whether or not to make it a free state or a slave state. The North was free and the South was slave, so the U.S didn't want any side to have an advantage. But in the midst of all the chaos, California wanted to join the nation in 1850. The gold rush had just occurred and California had become more popular. To settle all these disagreements and problems, Congress created the Compromise of 1850. The compromise stated that Texas's present day borders were set in exchange for the U.S paying Texas's debt, that slavery would be abolished in Washington D.C, and that land previously claimed by Texas would be split in New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Nevada. California was also admitted as a free state, which gave the North an advantage. But slavery was still an issue, so the Fugitive Slave Act was passed in 1850 after the Tariff of 1828 was released. The act was passed because of the Compromise of 1850 and was supposed to help slavery all throughout the nation.