Compromise of 1850: Resources

This site links out to a bunch of useful things, including scans of newspapers from 1850 that printed important speeches. It's a generally good source for some primary sources about the Compromise that aren't actually the Compromise.

Here's another place you can find some cool primary sources about the Compromise, such as a handwritten version of the omnibus bill with amendments made in May or June of 1850.

The Senate website has an "Art & History" section that goes into a number of different events related to the Compromise of 1850, from Henry Clay's introduction to the Seventh of March Speech and more. Each event description includes links to profiles of important people mentioned.

A TV movie about several slaves who attempt to escape in the early 1850s, and have to deal with the effects of the Fugitive Slave Law.

This movie is based on the real-life memoirs of Solomon Northrup, a free African American who was kidnapped and wrongfully sent into slavery. It happened before the Compromise of 1850, but the story does show threat of slave catchers and the potential risks Black people were facing under fugitive slave laws.

The letter by Daniel Webster was actually written in October 1850, though it was published later. In it, he talks about his happiness over the passage of the Compromise, and how he hoped it would bring about greater political unity. He also pointedly criticizes people who were getting angry about certain parts of the law.

The author discusses why Millard Fillmore tends to be the butt of people's presidential jokes, and whether or not he really deserves such ridicule (hint: he doesn't).

Largely a book review, this article puts the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 into the greater context of the experience of Black Americans in the 19th century, with a special focus on weapons and violence.

This book review includes a brief summary of Henry Clay's life and his influence on American history and politics.

Back in 1991, a history writer convinced the government to exhume Zachary Taylor's body because she thought he died of arsenic poisoning. Her theory was that the assassination was related to the Compromise. The coroner ended up saying it wasn't arsenic, but also that it would be very difficult to prove either way.

Admittedly, this one is long (90 min) and not the most exciting. But it does have two respected historians discussing the Compromise of 1850. There's also a transcript on the bottom if you need it.

This guy doesn't go into a lot of detail about the Compromise of 1850 itself, but he does link it to the later events of the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the House Divided speech. And the chorus is almost as catchy as the Taylor Swift version—almost.

This segment from NPR's Morning Edition discusses Henry Clay's struggle with his own views on slavery, being a slave owner who advocated for emancipation.

Clay had just emerged from the War Hawk (War of 1812) era of his life when this portrait was painted. Looks like the kind of guy you'd compromise with.

Photography became a thing during Henry Clay's lifetime, so here's a photo of him around 1848, approximately what he looked like when he was pitching the Compromise of 1850.

It's a little hard to see why he was called "Black Dan," so we'll have to just assume it was more obvious seeing him in person.

John C. Calhoun always looks a little scary in photos. Even when they're taken by the famous Mathew Brady.

Forgettable Fillmore had his portrait taken by the Mathew Brady studio, like many others in the 1850s and 60s, after his time in the Oval Office.

Remember, cameras were still a novelty at this time, and they certainly wouldn't be in Senate debates because you had to sit still for fifteen minutes to take a photograph. So we have to be content with an engraving.

This headline from a Massachusetts newspaper shows how many northerners felt about the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act, and how they reacted towards politicians.

Here's a pic of the Great Triumvirate doing their senatorial best.