Deanna Cotugno

Mr. Widenhofer
Honors U.S History
January 16, 2017

Midterm essay

during the Mexican - American War there was a lot of controversy based around the

subject of expansion. There was controversy because the people did not know the right way to

handle the problem of slavery. When Americans finally got the Mexican secession after the

Mexican American War slavery became an issue again. It became an issue again because most

people did not want slavery in these new territories, but that upset the slaveholders Along with

the Mexican American War there was controversy when James K. Polk became President of the

United States. There were problems wth his presidency because he wanted to expand the United

States with Oregon and California. Controversy over the expansion of slavery was based upon

California becoming a state, the Mexican Secession, and James K. Polk becoming president and

wanting California and Oregon.

when President James K. Polk stepped into office he had four things on his mind, but the

two that caused the most tension were that James K. Polk had his sights set n getting California

and Oregon inducted into the United States. These two ideas caused so much controversy

because the question there became, will they be free or will they be slave states? This question

caused the slaveholders to say absolutely, but those in the North disagreed tremendously. if

slavery were to expand into these territories it would upset the balance of free and slave states
 When there was gold found in California there was a rush of people to the west. this rush

is also called the “Gold Rush.” since California had a rapidly growing population California was

eligible to apply for statehood. California, using Popular Sovereignty shot down the idea of

slavery in its Constitution. when news of this got to the South they were furious. If California

ended up becoming a free state it would upset the balance of 15 free and 15 slave states in the

U.S. The south was furious in this decision because they did not see the problem in expanding

slavery into the west. they thought it would be better for them and their companies if they had

more land. California said no to slavery because they knew it was both morally and economically

right.

The final evidence in the controversy of the expansion of slavery into the west is the

Mexican Secession. After the Mexican - American war the U.S and Mexico signed the treaty of

Guadalupe Hidalgo. the land that was involved in this treaty became known as the Mexican

Secession. the Mexican Secession included the land of New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Nevada.

after the U.S successfully paid Mexico $15 million for the secession of these lands David Wilmot

said absolutely no slavery should be allowed in these lands. this statement caused an uproar in

the South. They did not understand why they could not use some of this land for slavery. If

slavery were to be allowed in these lands it would be morally wrong but it could also cause an

upset to the United States economic system. This piece of evidence was a cause to the Civil War

because the South really saw who had the power in this country. they now understood that no

matter how hard they worked they would never be able to get their way

to connect the idea of slavery expansion to the west to the past it could be connected to

the Missouri Compromise. The Missouri Compromise was brought to life in 1820. there was also
controversy with the Missouri Compromise because Missouri wanted to enter the U.S as a state

but it would upset the balance of the 12 free and 12 slave states. as a compromise the

government invited both Missouri and Maine to become states. Maine would become free and

Missouri would become slave. All of these pieces of evidence relate to the start of the Civil War

because all of these treaties and land compromises caused the tension between the north and

south to build.