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30. An Uneasy Peace

Wilmot's proviso, popular sovereignty, the last argument of Clay, Calhoun and Webster, and the compromise of 1850.

30. An Uneasy Peace

U.S. SenateJohn C. Calhoun, long a champion of southern rights, devoted his final days to opposing the Senate's Compromise of 1850. The Mexican War was over. E…

30a. Wilmot's Proviso

David Wilmot proposal divided both parties along sectional lines. By the standards of his day, David Wilmot could be considered a racist. Yet the Pennsylvania…

30b. Popular Sovereignty

National Statuary Hall CollectionLewis Cass of Michigan, Democratic candidate for President in the election of 1848, coined the term "popular sovereignty." In…

30c. Three Senatorial Giants: Clay, Calhoun and Webster

Dartmouth CollegeDaniel Webster's "Seventh of March" speech urged Senators from all regions of the nation to compromise their positions in order to save the Un…

30d. The Compromise of 1850

The United States Senate, A.D. 1850, Peter F. Rothermel (artist) and Robert Whitechurch (engraver) ca 1855The "Great Compromiser," Henry Clay, introduces the C…