On the Brink of Civil War: The Compromise of 1850 and How It Changed the Course of American History

Years before the Civil War began, another dark conflict threatened to shatter the Union. It was December 1849. The U.S.—Mexican War had just ended, doubling the size of the country. A grave problem emerged: whether slavery should be admitted into the new territories that were to be carved out of the vast new domain resulting from the war. This dilemma strained the relationship between the slave—holding South and the antislavery North. Other issues loomed as well: where to draw the Texas bou...