Web viewOtis was responsible for inventing the first trustworthy elevator. New territories added within the decade allowed for agriculture to boom and industries to develop

On September 9, 1850, California became the 31st state thanks to the Compromise of 1850.

Before the Compromise of 1850, the Southern United States wanted Southern California to become

slave territory. The California Gold Rush was occurring during this time until 1855, and the sudden

increase in population and a need for a government. When California was applied for admission to

become a free state with its current boundaries, it was approved, but a later proposal from the Southern

United States was made to split California was disapproved.

California is not the only area affected by the Compromise of 1850. Texas was forced to

surrender its claim on New Mexico and the area north of the Missouri Compromise Line. Before then,

the land Texas claimed went as far as Rio Grande. Texas took El Paso February 1850. New Mexico,

resisting Texas' claim, decided to apply to become a free state. Mormon settlers made a proposal for a

large area of the United States to become the State of Deseret.

Before Texas gave up some of its land claims, it had been under massive debt. Trading the

claims was the only way to get some relief. Unfortunately, New Mexico and Deseret are denied

statehood, instead becoming New Mexico Territory and Utah Territory, respectively. The slave trade

was officially banned in Washington, D.C.

The Gadsden Purchase, named after James Gadsden, is a 29,670 square mile region of present-

day Southern Arizona and Southwestern New Mexico. James Gadsden, the American ambassador of

Mexico, signed the treaty that allowed the United States to purchase the region. The purchase is the

final acquisition in the contiguous United States. The region purchased is a large area in the United

States.

The Gadsden Purchase occurred on December 30, 1853. It was changed by the U.S. Senate on

April 25, 1854 and signed by then President Franklin Pierce. The final approval for the Gadsden

Purchase happened on June 8, 1854 by Mexico.

The Pottawatomie Massacre happened on the night of May 24, 1856. Before the massacre, pro-

slavery forces caused the sacking of Lawrence, Kansas. Settler John Brown and a group of abolitionists

killed five settlers north of Pottawatomie Creek in Franklin County, Kansas. The Pottawatomie

Massacre was one of the big events leading to the American Civil War and is a part of a compilation of

bloody episodes nicknamed Bleeding Kansas, which was due to the Missouri Compromise and the

Kansas-Nebraska Act.

One of the influential people of the 1850s was an abolitionist named John Brown. His beliefs on

overthrowing the violent slavery system involved using only armed insurrection. Brown commanded

forces at the Battle of the Black Jack and the Battle of Osawotamie. His followers killed five pro-

slavery supporters at Pottawatomie. In the year 1859, he led an unsuccessful raid at Harpers Ferry,

leading to his conviction and death by hanging.

The Presidents of the 1850s include Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, and James Buchanan.

After the death of the original President in 1849, Zachary Taylor, then Vice President Fillmore served

one term from 1850 to 1853. He opposed to keep slavery out of the territories that were annexed during

the Mexican-American War. He signed the Compromise of 1850 and is consistently ranked in the

bottom ten of Presidents according to historical impacts.

Franklin Pierce was the President from 1853 to 1857. It is been told that he suffered a lot of

tragedy throughout his personal life because his children died young. As President, he made divisive

decisions, resulting in much controversy and criticism headed towards him. This reputation earned him

the title of being one of the worst Presidents in U.S. history.

James Buchanan was the President from 1857 to 1861 and is the only one who remained single

his entire life. Although he was aspiring to be a President that would rank him among George

Washington, unfortunately his failure to impose peace and deal with succession made him named one

of the worst Presidents. Historians of 2006 and 2009 say he made the worst presidential mistake ever.

These three leaders of the United States have been ranked among the worst in history.

During the 1850s, American artists were making reputations in Europe. Dominating the art

world was Greek architecture and sculptures. Many notable artists included Hiram Powers, Henry

Kirke Brown, Horatio Greenough, Thomas U. Walter, James Renwick, Elisha Graves Otis. Powers

exhibited his marble sculpture Greek Slave in 1851. Brown unveiled his equestrian sculpture

masterpiece, George Washington. The Capitol of Washington was designed by Walter. St. Patrick's

Cathedral was designed by Renwick. Otis was responsible for inventing the first trustworthy elevator.

New territories added within the decade allowed for agriculture to boom and industries to

develop. Many acts and compromises made for new territories for white settlers. In 1858, Gold was

discovered near Denver, Colorado, an event reminiscent of the California Gold Rush. Transportation

improved due to new roads and railways. 1851 was the year the Erie Railroad provided the link from

the Hudson River to Lake Erie. The National Road was completed in Vandalia, Illinois, in 1852.

Many written works were published in the 1850s, but only a few have been able to alter the

thinking of the settlers in the time period. These pieces of literature included The Columbian Orator by

Caleb Bingham, My Bondage and My Freedom by Frederick Douglass, Narrative of Sojourner Truth

by Sojourner Truth, The Promise of the Father by Phoebe Palmer, Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet

Beecher Stowe, and The Origin of the Species by Charles Darwin.