The Presidential Election in 1848

In the presidential election of 1848, General Zachary Taylor ran on the Whig ticket without ever expressing an honest opinion on slavery in the new territories. It’s doubtful he had an opinion and if he did he certainly didn’t want to lose any votes by voicing it. His opponent Lewis Cass, side stepped the issue by leaving it up the the government of territorial governments. Even though it was the major question of the day, both candidates behaved as if the question didn’t exist, The only clear stand on slavery was offered by Martin Van Buren running on the Free Soil ticket ,a splinter ticket of the antislavery Democrats. Even so, as the conquering hero of the Mexican war, Taylor won the election hands down. The newly elected president had no plans to cope with the new western territories including the issues of slavery or the gold rush on the American economy.

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California had petitioned for admission into the union as a free state in 1849, placed before congress the fate of the union hung in the balance. Southerners who had accepted Oregon as a free state didn’t want any more free states, especially one as big and rich as California. A package of bills mostly by Henry Clay was introduced to the Senate. Heartily debated it was distasteful to abolitionists as others had been. The new senator from Illinois, Stephen Douglas ramrodded the compromise through by dividing it into five separate bills, and pulling enough support for each separate bill to pass the compromise.

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It was the death of President Zachary Taylor that finely allowed the compromise to pass in 1850. Taylor’s successor, Millard Fillmore, signed the five bills that made up the compromise. California was admitted as a free state. New Mexico,Texas, and Utah were left without restrictions on slavery. Texas also received $10 million for land that would become the state of New Mexico. Slave trade was abolished in the District of Columbia but not slavery itself. A new Fugitive Slave Act allowed Federal Jurisdiction to assist slave owners capture runaway slaves. It was the last of these bills that the population disliked to the utmost. Under the law no black person was safe. Suddenly blacks were subject to capture and transportation to the south. Even the expense of apprehending and returning the slave was to be paid by the federal government. The northern states were vocal and disgruntled with their southern neighbors. They were losing trust in the government.

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The law was protested violently. In Boston, William and Ellen Croft, who had escaped from slavery by Ellen posing as a white southern gentleman and William as her slave were defended and hidden from slave catchers. When an escaped slave named Shadrack was captured by the federal marshals, a mob attacked the marshals and sent Shadrack to safety in Montreal. Outraged, President Filmore sent troops to Boston to take another escaped slave by the name of Thomas Sims. Trouble was breaking out everywhere. In Pennsylvania, a Quaker town that welcomed fugitives and helped them on their way to Canada was raided by marines sent by the president. The marines were called again to bring back slaves from Canada but Canada would not be bullied and refused to extradite the fugitives. Anger and unrest was evident in all the states and the breaking up of the union was soon to begin.

http://socyberty.com/reference/biography/paul-jennings-white-house-slave/

http://socyberty.com/history/rosa-parks-legacy/

http://socyberty.com/history/slaves-on-marthas-vineyard/

http://quazen.com/reference/biography/the-rebellion-of-nat-turner/