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It comes as no surprise that there were many political tensions between the North and South in the ante-bellum period. One of these main issues was the institution of slavery and its possible expansion into new territories.Each side feared that with the inclusion of new states that whether they be free or slave that it would tilt the balance of power to one side which would allow the stronger side to either further enforce slavery or to abolish it. The two sides needed to come to some form of agreement in hopes of maintaining the balance of power. Many compromises occurred to curb the spread of slave states to the west such as the Missouri Compromise while not outright restricting growth. One major compromise Compromise of 1850.
In 1850, congress wished to allow the territory of California to be admitted as a free state, as well as New Mexico. The southerns were outraged by this expansionary policy and believed it was a move for the North to gain more political power. Clay offered a more “fair” alternative to this plan. In this plan, Texas releases its claim to New Mexico and allow the future states New Mexico and Arizona to have the decision to be free or slave. California would still be admitted as a free state. The South gained a stronger Fugitive Slave act to enforce slavery.
This compromise only proved to delay the inevitable succession of South Carolina and the southern states who followed. It was a vain attempt at compromise that just didn’t do enough. It did not truly limit or allow slavery which caused discontent for both sides leading to future conflict.