Victory in the Mexican War of 1846-1848 brought vast new lands to the United States and ignited a toxic debate over the spread of slavery.
Stop the debate and drop the subject. If we do this the Compromise will be recognized as the final settlement.”
– Senator Stephen A. Douglas, on slavery and the Compromise of 1850
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- Library of Congress
The Compromise of 1850
Henry Clay brokered the “Compromise of 1850” in an attempt to settle the issue of slavery and avoid civil war. (Details below.) He offered some concessions to the North and some to the South. One provision intensifi ed confl ict. A strict Fugitive Slave Law mandated the return of runaways from the North. As “slave catchers” appeared in Massachusetts black and white abolitionists forged new levels of cooperation.
Daniel Webster
Renowned as an orator, Massachusetts Senator Daniel Webster’s support for the Compromise of 1850 clouded his reputation at the time and in historical memory.
- U.S. Senate Collection
William Lloyd Garrison
Abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison made opposition to the Fugitive Slave Law a central theme in the pages of his newspaper the Liberator. Garrison later called Hayden “my staunchest ally.”
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
Emergence of Lewis Hayden
Hayden quickly became a leader in resisting the Fugitive Slave Law. Although relatively new to Boston, he had unique qualities: an impressive capacity for growth, a dignity that earned credibility with black and white Bostonians, and rock steady reliability in a crisis. A “man of action” he combined intelligence with physical courage. Some African-Americans called him the “Tavern of Strength.” To children he was “Papa Hayden.”
About the Compromise of 1850
The free state of California would balance the slave state of
Texas. The territories of New Mexico and Utah would decide
on slavery for themselves. The slave trade (but not slavery) would
end in the District of Columbia. Under the Fugitive Slave Law
private citizens faced a $1,000 fi ne or six months in prison for
assisting runaways. Fugitives would appear before a federal
commissioner paid $10 for ruling against the slave and $5 for
supporting a claim of freedom.