Slavery in new territories: problems of territorial regulation of the U. S. after the war with Mexico (1848-1850)

The article deals with the political struggle in the U. S. in the late 1840s, the fate of the territories annexed by the results of the war with Mexico (1846-1848). The author focuses on the problem of legalization of slavery in California and New Mexico. The author analyzes the opposition on this question, which is exacerbated to the limit relations between free and slave northern southern states. It is proved that a compromise in 1850 was another step on the way, culminating in the exit of the southern states from the American Union and the ensuing Civil War (1861-1865).