California and the Compromise of 1850

            In 1849 California sent a request to Congress asking for statehood and launched a crisis that the brought the country closer to disunion.  California became eligible for statehood shortly after the discovery of gold near Sacramento.  A new state threatened the balance in the Senate that had been preserved since the Missouri Compromise of 1820.  Many Northerners welcomed the idea of a new state entering the Union knowing that California would most likely become a free state.
           The issue of California also sparked the debate of popular sovereignty or the belief that the people living in a region should have the right to decide their own fate, or in this case if slavery should be allowed or banned.  Supporters of popular sovereignty cited that these were the ideals of Thomas Jefferson and that they were truly democratic and fair.  Critics of popular sovereignty believed that the right to decide if a territory was eligible for slavery should be reserved for Congress and the federal government not the states.   They believed that popular sovereignty threatened the union of the country.
         The Gold Rush brought thousands of Americans into California over the course of a few months. Many of these new settlers were young single men hoping to make a fortune immediately.  Other settlers were businessmen who where hoping to make money by providing food, shelter, or supplies to the miners.
        Californians were divided over the issue of slavery. Some emigrants to California were slave owners who brought their slaves with them or came from the South and believed that slavery should be allowed in California.  Slavery was seen by some miners as unfair competition and felt that it should be banned for economic reasons while others saw slavery as being morally wrong and did not want to see it spread any further.  The anti-slavery residents were the majority of the population and sought to make sure that when California became a state it would become a free state.
         As Congress began the heated debate over admitting California it became very clear that the issue of slavery was driving the country apart.  Northern Senators and Congressmen warned against the growing influence of slavery in the West while many Southern members of Congress argued that the Federal Government did not have the right to exclude slavery from new land.
         Senator Henry Clay became increasingly concerned over the fate of the country when he saw many of his  colleagues refusing to work together.  Clay hoped that he could create an act of legislation that would hold the country together but knew that he could not do this alone.