Skill 4: Summarize what the Wilmot Proviso was and why the Southerners opposed it.
Wilmot Proviso
In 1846, America was divided politically, socially and culturally over the controversial issue of slavery. The southern states, who depended on slavery for their economic survival, believed that as long as there was an equal number of slave and free states, it would be fine to have slaves. The northern Abolitionist movement, however, didn’t want the country to be half-slave and half-free. They were willing to stop at nothing to end slavery. The slavery issue would take center stage in politics when U.S. President James K. Polk tried to buy valuable land from Mexico for $2 million.
David Wilmot, a Pennsylvania Democrat in the House of Representatives, wanted to limit the spread of slavery into America’s new western territories. In the hope of achieving this, he attempted to pass the Wilmot Proviso to amend the Constitution. The Wilmot Proviso stated that no territory purchased with money could be a slave state. This outraged the southerners, who believed that the western territories belonged to the states, not the Federal government. The bill would divide the nation into two parts, North and South. The House of Representatives passed the bill, but it was never passed through the Senate. This, however, was not the end of the slave debate. It would continue to tear the nation apart, as the U.S. quickly expanded its territory to the west coast.
David Wilmot, a Pennsylvania Democrat in the House of Representatives, wanted to limit the spread of slavery into America’s new western territories. In the hope of achieving this, he attempted to pass the Wilmot Proviso to amend the Constitution. The Wilmot Proviso stated that no territory purchased with money could be a slave state. This outraged the southerners, who believed that the western territories belonged to the states, not the Federal government. The bill would divide the nation into two parts, North and South. The House of Representatives passed the bill, but it was never passed through the Senate. This, however, was not the end of the slave debate. It would continue to tear the nation apart, as the U.S. quickly expanded its territory to the west coast.
"Congress would exclude slavery from any territory that in the future might be acquired from Mexico." - David Wilmot