1. Compromise of 1850

2. The California Territory became part of the United States through the treaty that ended the Mexican War.
People rushed to California to pan for gold
Did not want competition from slaves
California applied to be admitted to the union.
Wanted to be ‘free soil’; applied for admission as a free state;
Would upset the balance of free and slave states

3. The Compromise of 1850
allowed California to be a free state but also outlawed the slave trade in Washington D.C.
provided that the rest of the Mexican Cession would decide on slavery through popular sovereignty.
Southerners also got a new Fugitive Slave Law

5. Effects of the Compromise of 1850
Fugitive Slave law caused controversy between Northern and Southern States
Uncle Tom’s Cabin, written by Harriet Beecher Stowe increased sympathy for fugitive slaves
Southerners argued that is misrepresented slavery