Black California, The Fugitive Slave, and the Compromise of 1850

by African Elements News Writer | Mar 18, 2021 | Black History (Through Reconstruction), Black New-US, Current News Headlines, Video Essays on Black History and Politics

The history of slavery and sectional debate impacted the formation of California in a variety of ways. California’s admission into the Union and the Compromise of 1850 intensified the sectional conflict over slavery bringing the United States one step closer to Civil War. The hidden history of the slavery debate in the mid-19th century becomes visible in the very placement of California’s eastern border. Additionally, California becomes a central point in Black history as African Americans struggled to keep slavery out of California…and Black people in it.