2. Explain how the govt dealt with slavery in the
new territories acquired from Mexico
Explain how the Fugitive Slave Act divided the
North & South
3. Wilmot Proviso – Said all territory gained from
the War with Mexico could not contain slavery
Popular Sovereignty – Let the citizens of each
new territory decide whether to allow slavery
Free – Soil Party – Political party that formed
with the goal of abolishing slavery
4. Gold Rush in California
Gold found at Sutters Mill in 1849
People from all over the country rushed to California
Adventurers nicknamed “Forty-Niners”
California decided to apply for statehood
Slave States vs. Free States
15 slave states & 15 free states
Secession – A state that removes itself from their
union
5. California becomes a free state
Popular Sovereignty will be used to determine
slavery in new territories
Texas gains new border into Mexico
Slavery abolished in Washington D.C.
Fugitive Slave Act would be strictly enforced
6. Fugitive Slave Act
Slaveholders or slave catchers needed only to point
out alleged runaways to arrest them
Slaves would be brought before a federal
commissioner to decide their fate
Anyone who harbored a slave or refused to help
catch one could be thrown in jail
