Faced with massive amounts of new territory, the government had to find ways to organize and regulate those territories, who'd one day become new states. The senators writing the Compromise of 1850 are busy establishing sets of rules and organization for the territories, not to mention ways of enforcing those rules. Can't have those cowboys and outlaws running around in the wide-open, uncivilized west.
You'll have noticed that the list of rules for the organization of New Mexico is repeated practically verbatim for Utah. After months and months of debating, you wouldn't want your legislation to go down on a technicality because you didn't spell things out enough.
Especially in legislation that was such a controversial and sensitive balancing act for a potentially nation-busting issue, the devil is in the details. Or is it, God is in the details? Anyway, we've got the Senate: protecting law and order since 1787.
Questions About Rules and Order
- Why might an emphasis on rules and order be particularly appealing for the Compromise of 1850?
- How does the author use language to keep up the theme of rules and order throughout the Compromise text?
- What kinds of rules are being set in the text, and what's their ultimate purpose?
- Was the Compromise ultimately successful in creating and/or maintaining rules and order?
Chew on This
The focus on rules and order contrasts with the traditional vision of the "Wild West," and the relative lawlessness of these regions that were far from the big cities.
All heck was going to break loose about slavery regardless of the rules and laws. The Compromise of 1850 was a Band-Aid solution.