Compromise of 1850: Analysis

Compromise of 1850: Analysis

Symbols, Motifs, and Rhetorical Devices

Rhetoric

LogosYou could argue that the Compromise of 1850 actually relies on implied ethos, since it's coming from the government, an authority. However, the actual style of writing is designed to convey in...

Structure

Legal DocumentThe Compromise of 1850 is an Act of Congress. It defines laws and legal structures. Its primary purpose is to create legislation, rather than tell a story or inspire people with poetr...

Tone

Completely UnemotionalThe Compromise of 1850 wasn't just a political, legislative document, but the whole point of its existence was to try and relieve tension between groups of people who had very...

Writing Style

Wordy, with Long SentencesThe Compromise of 1850 is basically in mid-19th-century version of legalese, so it's not meant for easy reading. It's meant to get all the laws laid out clearly, without l...

What's Up With the Title?

Well, the title of the Compromise of 1850 isn't exactly creative or revolutionary. It's a simple description of what the text is, and when it happened.Maybe the most significant feature is the use...

What's Up With the Opening Lines?

It's a little tricky to talk about the opening lines of the Compromise, because in the end it was passed in different sections. So what counts as the opening lines? For the sake of clarity, though,...

What's Up With the Closing Lines?

Like the opening lines, it's a little tricky to pick out the closing lines, given that all the different bills were passed independently. But the actual final lines are the final section of the act...

Tough-o-Meter

(6) Tree LineThe Compromise of 1850 is written for judges and politicians rather than the average person, so it's filled with legal language—lots of "whereas"es and "aforesaid"s. It's easy to get...

Shout-Outs

In-Text ReferencesHistorical ReferencesThe Mexican-American War (Texas.Section 1.3-5)California applying for statehood (California.Section 1.1)Legal ReferencesThe Constitution of the United StatesT...

Trivia

The Compromise of 1850 protected a clause from the earlier annexation of Texas, which allowed Texas to break itself up into smaller states if it wants to. Like it would ever want to. (Source)Henry...