ree states in a congressional balance of power. They realized that if Congress prohibited slavery in the territories there would no longer be an equality of power between the slave and free states. When new territories enter the Union it would most likely be as free states and the predominately Northern opinion to abolish slavery would then become a reality. 7
             The views of the North were expressed in the Wilmot Proviso, presented after the Mexican American war, which expressed the view that Congress had not only the right but also the responsibility to prohibit slavery. The Northern view was also based upon the constitution itself, which states that Congress has the power to "make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting t
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