Glossary Term – Event
Slavery ban proposed for western territories
Congressman Rufus King of Massachusetts proposed a ban on slavery in the western US territories.
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Showing results 61 – 70 of 89
Glossary Term – Event
Termination policy for American Indians
Congress adopted a policy of “termination” toward American Indians with the intention of “as rapidly as possible mak[ing] Indians within the territorial limits of the United States subject to the same laws and entitled to the same privileges and responsibilities as are applicable to other citizens of the United States.”
Glossary Term – Event
Compromise of 1850
Congress adopted the Compromise of 1850, which admitted California to the Union as a free state without forbidding slavery in other territories acquired from Mexico. The law prohibited the sale of slaves in Washington, DC, but included a strict law requiring the return of runaway slaves to slaveholders.
Glossary Term – Event
Crittenden Compromise
Kentucky Senator John J. Crittenden introduced his Crittenden Compromise in Congress. The compromise would have protected slavery in the South through a series of constitutional amendments but the proposal was narrowly defeated in the Senate.
Glossary Term – Event
Fugitive Slave Law
Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act as part of the Compromise of 1850. The act forced northerners to cooperate in returning runaway slaves to the South.
Glossary Term – Event
Kansas-Nebraska Act
Congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which overturned the Missouri Compromise. This opened Kansas and Nebraska to white settlement and allowed popular sovereignty to determine slave- or free-state status in territories seeking statehood. The act destroyed the Whig Party, divided the Democratic Party, and prompted the creation the Republican Party. The author of this legislation was Senator Stephen A. Douglas, who had pushed the Compromise of 1850 through Congress. As chairman of the Senate Committee on Territories, Douglas had proposed...
Glossary Term – Event
Slave trade abolished in Washington, DC
Congress abolished the slave trade in Washington, DC, effective January 1, 1851.
Glossary Term – Event
Interstate Commerce Act
Under pressure from small businesses and farmers, Congress passed the Interstate Commerce Act creating the Interstate Commerce Commission, the first federal regulatory commission.
Glossary Term – Event
Gold Standard Act
Congress passed the Gold Standard Act, making gold the sole monetary standard for US currency.