An American history . When Congressmet in December, 1849,therefore, California was nolonger waiting to be organ-ized as a territory, but wasready for admission to theUnion as a state, and a statewith a free constitution. It was, therefore, evidentthat the Congress of 1849-1851 would have to deal inearnest with the organizationof the new territory. Withthe example of California before them, the people of New Mexicowere already planning a government for themselves. A bitterboundary quarrel was developing between New Mexico andTexas. Finally, the abolitionists, roused by the acquisition ofnew ter
An American history . When Congressmet in December, 1849,therefore, California was nolonger waiting to be organ-ized as a territory, but wasready for admission to theUnion as a state, and a statewith a free constitution. It was, therefore, evidentthat the Congress of 1849-1851 would have to deal inearnest with the organizationof the new territory. Withthe example of California before them, the people of New Mexicowere already planning a government for themselves. A bitterboundary quarrel was developing between New Mexico andTexas. Finally, the abolitionists, roused by the acquisition ofnew territory in the southwest suitable for slavery, were re-doubling their petitions to Congress to prove its control overthe territories of the United States, by abolishing slavery inthe District of Columbia. In spite of Taylors message to theassembled Congress, advising them to abstain from the in-troduction of those exciting topics of sectional character which 523. Cali-fornia drawsup a free constitution,September,1849. The Discovery of Gold at SuttersMill, California 524. Thecrisis facedby Congress,December,1849 358 Slavery and the West 525. The 31st Congress, 1849-1851 526. HenryClay intro-duces theOmnibus Bill have hitherto produced painful apprehension in the public mind,— in plain words, not to quarrel about slavery, — the Congressand the country at large believed that the acquisition of the newWestern lands had brought a crisis which must now be faced. The Omnibus Bill Probably no other gathering of public men in our history,except the convention which met at Philadelphia in 1787 toframe the Constitution of the United States, contained so manyorators and political geniuses of the first rank as the Senatewhich assembled in December, 1849. There met, for the lasttime, the great triumvirate of American statesmen, Clay, Web-ster, and Calhoun, — all three born during the RevolutionaryWar, and all so identified with every public question for a gen-eration that to write the b
Size: 1496px × 1669px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookauthormuzzeydavidsaville187, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910
