MANIFEST DESTINY 1806 1855
COMPROMISE OF 1850
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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California was so far away from the rest of the states.
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Spain wanted California back.
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It might make Mexico mad.
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Half of the states were slave states and half of the states were free states. Adding California would make make the number of states uneven and give one side more voting power.
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Detailed explanation-1: -In 1849, California requested permission to enter the Union as a “free state” – meaning one where slavery was banned. Adding more “free state” senators to Congress would destroy the balance between “slave” and “free” states that had existed since the Missouri Compromise of 1820.
Detailed explanation-2: -In a precarious effort to balance the concerns of Southern slave-holding interests and those against slavery’s expansion, Congress cobbled together the Compromise of 1850. The series of bills admitted California as a free state, while also granting important concessions to the South.
Detailed explanation-3: -Many Southerners realized that they would lose the tie in free and slave states in the United States Senate that had been maintained since the passage of the Missouri Compromise in 1820. For this reason, they refused to support California’s admission to the Union.
Detailed explanation-4: -Balancing Act Each state gets to send two people to the U.S. Senate. An equal number of senators from free and slave states meant neither side had an advantage for getting laws passed. By 1819, there was a delicate balance of 11 free states and 11 slave states.