1820, after the admission of Missouri into the Union, all states above the 36' 30 parallel were to be admitted as free states and everything below the parallel was to be slave. David Wilmot, a Northern Democratic Congressman, felt that slavery already took up enough of the continent and developed the Wilmot Proviso in 1846. The bill passed twice in the House of Representatives but failed to pass in the Senate. The bill provoked bitter controversy between the North and South (McPherson 55).
             By 1850, Henry Clay knew something would have to be done. Therefore, he developed a plan he hoped would appease both sides. He came up with eight resolutions that were grouped into two categories. The first pair would admit California as a state and organize the remainder of the Mexican cession without any restriction on slavery. The second pair would settle the boundary dispute between Texas and New Mexico. After many debates, the Compromise finally came about as a series of separately enacted measures. Eventually, they became law with a majority of congressmen from one section voting against the majority of the other. For ten years, the Compromise of 1850 merely escaped the crisis (McPherson 70).
             The Fugitive Slave Laws were developed to protect slave owners and penalize runaway slaves. In 1793, Congress sanctioned the rights of slave owners to reclaim their fugitive slaves. Northerners countered this with "personal liberty" laws and formed the Underground Railroad to transport slaves to freedom. In 1850, the law brought even stronger penalties for runaway slaves, and was met with more Northern opposition (Webster's Vol. 4 997).
             The Union not only felt that slavery was unconstitutional, but immoral. By this time, the Second Great Awakening began to immerge. Moral crusaders felt slavery was sin and needed to be abolished. They made it their personal mission to end slavery. Their discontent with the is...