The Impact of Compromise of 1850 on the Post-War America

In the early 1800s, America was quite literally growing as the concept of Manifest Destiny pushed expansion. With the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and the Oregon Treaty in 1846, the nation was focused on expansion leading up to the Mexican-American War in 1846. Politically America was divided on the issue of slavery with the Missouri compromise being the standard before the war, but with all of the new land gained The compromise of 1850 had to be created. The Compromise of 1850 may have been a noteworthy event; however, the Mexican-American War truly marked a turning point in the debate over slavery. It not only forced the nation to choose between slavery and freedom but also built extreme tension between the two sides of the argument.

A huge difference in the debate over slavery pre and post-war would be the effectiveness of the Missouri Compromise. Before the war the Missouri Compromise was a pretty clear precedent for the addition of new states; however, post-war a clear turning point in the debate emerged with the chaos that came with massive land gain. With a lot of new territories to decide about debate ensued. Another stark difference between the pre and post-war debate on slavery is violence. Pre-war the debate on slavery may have gotten heated, but it was nothing compared to the debate post-war. Examples of the extremes of the slave debate post-war would be the raid on Harpers Ferry, an effort to start a slave revolution led by John Brown. Another example would be Bleeding Kansas, which was a series of bloody civil confrontations over slavery.

One thing that stayed the same post-war was the division between the North and the South. In 1804 when all northern states had officially abolished or put in plans to gradually abolish slavery, a division began between the North and South. With time the division continued to grow, with two entirely different cultures developing. The division between the North and South had existed long before the Mexican-American War, and it continued after it for quite a while. Another similarity was the continued expansion of the United States with the Gadsden Purchase in 1853.

Even today the Mexican-American War is still remembered as the turning point in the debate on slavery. It marked the beginning of the end for an unbroken nation, paving the way for the Civil War in 1861. The effects of the Mexican-American war can be seen in the North V South attitude of reconstruction, and even can be felt as far as the 1960 civil rights protests.