Eleanor Finch
California's first constitution was adopted in 1849. The document was modelled on the constitutions of Iowa and New York, and it made California a free state from which slavery would be excluded. This was a significant decision, as the extension of slavery to new states could have given the slaveholding South a majority in the Senate.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Year of first constitution | 1849 |
| Did it legalise slavery? | No |
| Did it ban slavery? | Yes |
| Did it include measures to appease the South? | Yes |
| Did it deny suffrage and civil rights to non-white citizens? | Yes |
| Did it attempt to deny entry of all African Americans to California? | Yes |
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What You'll Learn
California's first constitution was adopted in 1849
> Neither Slavery nor involuntary Servitude, unless for the punishment of crimes, shall ever be tolerated in this State.
To balance California’s entry into the Union as a free state, the Compromise of 1850 included other measures—such as a stricter law on the return of fugitive slaves—that appeased the South.
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It banned slavery
California's first constitution, adopted in 1849, banned slavery. The constitution was closely modelled on the constitutions of Iowa and New York, the home states of many members of the convention. It stated:
> Neither Slavery nor involuntary Servitude, unless for the punishment of crimes, shall ever be tolerated in this State.
The territory had no slave patrols, nor local police interested in maintaining slavery, so slave escapes were quite common. To balance California’s entry into the Union as a free state, the Compromise of 1850 included other measures—such as a stricter law on the return of fugitive slaves—that appeased the South.
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This was to balance California's entry into the Union as a free state
California's first constitution, adopted in 1849, did not include legalised slavery. Instead, it banned slavery, stating that:
> Neither Slavery nor involuntary Servitude, unless for the punishment of crimes, shall ever be tolerated in this State.
The 1849 Constitution was closely modelled on the constitutions of Iowa and New York, the home states of many members of the convention. Although California entered the Union as a free state, the framers of the state constitution wrote into law the systematic denial of suffrage and other civil rights to non-white citizens. Some authorities went so far as to attempt to deny entry of all African Americans, free and slave, to California.
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The Compromise of 1850 appeased the South
California's first constitution, adopted in 1849, banned slavery. However, the Compromise of 1850 appeased the South by including other measures that balanced California's entry into the Union as a free state. This included a stricter law on the return of fugitive slaves. The Compromise of 1850 was a package of five separate bills passed by the United States Congress in September 1850 that temporarily defused tensions between slave and free states in the years leading up to the American Civil War. The compromise centred on how to handle slavery in recently acquired territories from the Mexican-American War (1846-48).
The Compromise of 1850 was designed by Whig senator Henry Clay and Democratic senator Stephen A. Douglas, with the support of President Millard Fillmore. The five compromise measures were enacted in September and were accepted by moderates in all sections of the country, postponing the secession of the South for a decade. The Compromise of 1850 included the following measures:
- The Fugitive Slave Act was amended and the slave trade in Washington, D.C., was abolished.
- California entered the Union as a free state, but it elected pro-slavery representatives.
- A territorial government was created in Utah, with no restrictions on whether any future state from this territory would be free or slave.
- A territorial government was created in New Mexico, with no restrictions on whether any future state from this territory would be free or slave.
- A boundary dispute between Texas and New Mexico was settled, with the northern and western borders for Texas defined.
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The constitution denied suffrage and civil rights to non-white citizens
California's first constitution, adopted in 1849, did not include legalised slavery. Instead, it banned slavery and involuntary servitude, stating that:
> Neither Slavery nor involuntary Servitude, unless for the punishment of crimes, shall ever be tolerated in this State.
However, the constitution did deny suffrage and civil rights to non-white citizens. Some authorities even attempted to deny entry of all African Americans, free and slave, to California. This was part of a wider pattern of racial discrimination in the state, which had no slave patrols or local police interested in maintaining slavery, making slave escapes quite common.
The Compromise of 1850 permitted California to be admitted to the Union as a free state, balancing sectional interests and appeasing the South. This included measures such as a stricter law on the return of fugitive slaves.
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Frequently asked questions
No, California's first constitution, adopted in 1849, banned slavery.
The constitution stated that "neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, unless for the punishment of crimes, shall ever be tolerated in this state".
The inclusion of California as a free state threatened to give the North a majority in the Senate, so the Compromise of 1850 was passed to balance sectional interests.
The Compromise of 1850 included measures such as a stricter law on the return of fugitive slaves that appeased the South and allowed California to be admitted to the Union as a free state.
There were no slave patrols or local police interested in maintaining slavery, so slave escapes were common.
