American History

Finally, Senator Stephen Douglas proposed a plan to unify the North and South. His idea was to divide Clay's plan into a series of bills. Members of Congress could vote for the bills they approved and not vote for the bills they opposed. The new laws, known as the Compromise of 1850, were passed by Congress. Many people thought that the compromise would settle the issue of slavery. It did prevent a war-- but only for ten years.

During the debates, Lincoln spoke forcefully against premitting slavery in the territories. He said that the United States could not survive "half slave and half free." Douglas supported popular sovereignty, which was the right of territories to vote to allow or ban slavery within their borders. Neither man liked slavery, but they saw different ways of dealing with the issue.

The Republican Party opposed Douglas' position, but so did southern Democrats. Still, Douglas won the election and kept his Senate seats. On the other hand, Lincoln lost the election but gained a national reputation. Some Republicans began to think of this plain-speaking man as a possible presidential candidate.

One part of the Compromise of 1850 was the Fugitive Slave Law.  The law required Northerners to help capture escaped slaves and return them to slaveholders in the South.  People who broke the law could receive a six-month jail term and a $1,000 fine.  Before the Fugitive Slave Law went into effect, an enslaved person might escape to freedom along the Underground Railroad to free states.  Now, there would be no escaping to safety anywhere in the United States.  Even free African Americans might be rounded up in error and sent to slaveholders.  If captured, African Americans were not even allowed to tell their story to a jury.  Many Northerners were upset about the law.  It forced them to be part of the slave system even though they did not support it.  In response, riots broke out in several northern cities.