US HISTORY CIVIL WAR NOTES 2

The Compromise of 1850

Thousands rushed west for the gold

California asks for statehood in 1849

California would be admitted as a free state

People of New Mexico & Utah would decide for themselves (free or slave)

Congress would abolish the sale of enslaved people in Washington DC

Slavery itself would remain legal in DC

Fugitive Slave Act: all citizens must aid in returning escaped slaves to their owners

• Results were mixed: Northerners were made furious by their legislative duty to return escaped slaves
• Really only solved the issue of CA becoming a "free" state

 

Decline of the WHIGS

Nativism: rising movement – ensuring the rights of American born citizens over immigrants

3 million Europeans arrived between 1846 & 1854, many of them Catholic

Formed order "Order of the Star Spangled Banner."

Membership totaled 1 million

Members used secret passwords and handshakes

Always replied "I Know Nothing" when asked about the Order

Claimed they were committed to the great work of "Americanizing Americans."

Catholics were equated with the monsters of tyranny