1. Northern Views on Slavery Those in the North viewed slavery as barbaric and morally wrong. Abolitionist used pictures such as this one to show the brutality of the institution. Others in the North feared that freed slaves might take their jobs in unskilled factories and mills. Some relied on slavery in the South for the success of their own businesses.

2. Southern views of slavery Those in the South not only believed it was their God-given right to hold blacks as slaves, but that they treated them better than Northerners treated those who were in the lower economic classes.

3. Election of 1848 Popular sovereignty became the motto of the proslavery groups in the Democratic and Whig parties. Even those who did not want to disturb the status quo, supported the idea.

4. Zachary Taylor A Whig from Louisiana, and a slaveholder, was popular with both sides of the issue. Most Whigs were anti-slavery, but he was a owner of slaves, so he appealed to those who were sympathetic to the institution.

5. Lewis Cass Democrat from Michigan. Although a Democrat, his association with Northern politics did not win him any supporters from the South. He did support popular sovereignty though.

6. Martin Van Buren Had served as President, and still had support from Democrats that did not like slavery. As the representative of the Free- Soil Party, he supported the idea that the new territories should be free of slavery.

7. Death of a President Within a year, Taylor dies from drinking lemonade???? Was planning to speak out against the idea of popular sovereignty, and he just released most of his slaves just days before.

8. Henry Clay To accommodate both sides of the slavery issue in the territories, Kentucky senator Henry Clay proposed a compromise that would hopefully satisfy everyone involved.

9. Compromise of 1850 California would be a free state. New Mexico and Utah would have popular sovereignty. The slave trade would end in D.C. Congress would adopt a Fugitive Slave Act. Texas would give up claims to New Mexico for $10 million.

10. John Calhoun The South Carolina senator did not approve the Compromise of 1850 and threatened to support secession from the Union if his demands were not met. Problem was, he was practically an invalid and could not speak at the time.

11. Daniel Webster Northern senator that tried to help Clay’s proposal through Congress, that popular sovereignty was a comforting measure for the South that slavery could expand into the territories.

12. Stephen Douglas Illinois senator that strongly supported popular sovereignty and took up the Compromise’s conditions and helped each measure go through Congress individually.

13. Fugitive Slave Act Forced Northerners to apprehend or report of fugitive slaves in their area. Placed undue responsibilities on those who did not own or support slavery. Freedmen in the North were often taken and were resold into slavery as a result to this law.