The alignment of 1850 (1)

On the seventh day of September, 1850, the city of Washington celebrated. A hundred-gun salute was fired, skyrockets were launched, and bands began to play “The Star-Spangled Banner”, and “Yankee Doodle”. Bonfires, processions, and serenades followed and word went round that it was the duty of every patriot to get drunk. The remarkable events were in response to the actions of Congress; for once Americans with a high degree of unanimity applauded the actions of their federal representatives.

The occasion was, of course, the final passage of the measures that made up the Compromise of 1850. Observers realized that the nation had come close to disaster and the celebrations in Washington and elsewhere expressed the relief of millions. It seemed as if the explosive issues separating North from South had been finally resolved and the nation looked forward to a lasting sectional peace.

The settlement proved ill-fated. Within less than five years, tensions were greater than ever; within little more than a decade a still more profound crisis would engulf the nation, despite the renewed efforts of men eager once again to find a lasting settlement. The Compromise of 1850 proved little more than a truce or armistice. In yet another way the future would be unkind to the Compromise. Although it has been thoroughly studied by many historians, there are two questions that have not yet been satisfactorily answered.