California's Admittance into the Union
California
was just another territory gained from the Guadalupe-Hidalgo Treaty. However,
one event changed it all, and led to California becoming a state and the debate
of whether it should be anti-slavery or pro-slavery. The Gold Rush was the
reason for the Compromise of 1850. This took place approximately during the
years 1849-1855, beginning in Sutter’s Sawmill on January 4, 1848. With
President James Knox Polk confirming this discovery of gold in December later
that year, the population of California grew immensely and quickly. By 1849, it
had enough people and was eligible to become a state. However, during that
time, there were 15 slave-allowing states, and 15 slave-prohibiting slaves, and
the adding of California to either one of these regions would offset the
balance. There was not another territory eligible to become a state. The North
believed that California should be free, because most of the land lay above the
Missouri Compromise Line. However, the South feared that they would not be able
to ward off the constant anti-slavery attacks-such as the Wilmot Proviso- from
the North, should California become a free state. Southern leaders began to
threaten to turn to the idea of seceding, but they did not.
The North had many reasons for allowing California in as a free state. For one, slavery was immoral anywhere in the country. Blacks should have equal rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Also, California’s climate, terrain, and fruit from nature would not be suitable for slaves. However, because they knew the South would criticize that statement, many northerners wanted California to be an “only white” populated state. Mexico had abolished slavery in 1829, so there was no trace of it in the land. Northerners also argued that the south was already rich, so they would have no interest in the gold in California, and would have nothing to do with anything there. Most of the travelers going to hunt for gold were against the practice of slavery, and believed that the profits gained should be the fruit of the work.
There were others, though, who were entirely against the idea of a new state added into the Union. They agreed with the idea of an all white state, for that was what Americans were (since slaves were not citizens, and blacks were commonly discriminated against), but stated that already were foreigners “infesting the land” and that it was no longer pure. The dying John C. Calhoun’s opinion was that the addition of California would be a “destruction of the equilibrium between the North and the South, a more intense agitation of the slavery question, a civil war and the destruction of the South.”
California’s admittance into the Union destroyed the balance of slave states and free states. Nevertheless, it was not the only territory with a need to be organized.
The North had many reasons for allowing California in as a free state. For one, slavery was immoral anywhere in the country. Blacks should have equal rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Also, California’s climate, terrain, and fruit from nature would not be suitable for slaves. However, because they knew the South would criticize that statement, many northerners wanted California to be an “only white” populated state. Mexico had abolished slavery in 1829, so there was no trace of it in the land. Northerners also argued that the south was already rich, so they would have no interest in the gold in California, and would have nothing to do with anything there. Most of the travelers going to hunt for gold were against the practice of slavery, and believed that the profits gained should be the fruit of the work.
There were others, though, who were entirely against the idea of a new state added into the Union. They agreed with the idea of an all white state, for that was what Americans were (since slaves were not citizens, and blacks were commonly discriminated against), but stated that already were foreigners “infesting the land” and that it was no longer pure. The dying John C. Calhoun’s opinion was that the addition of California would be a “destruction of the equilibrium between the North and the South, a more intense agitation of the slavery question, a civil war and the destruction of the South.”
California’s admittance into the Union destroyed the balance of slave states and free states. Nevertheless, it was not the only territory with a need to be organized.