Which provision was NOT a key element of the Compromise of 1850?

Which provision was NOT a key element of the Compromise of 1850?

• A. Abolishing the slave trade in Washington, D.C.
• B. California admitted as a free state
• C. A stronger Fugitive Slave Act
• D. Creation of territorial status for new lands

Answer: (A)

The question tests your knowledge of what the Compromise of 1850 included. The Compromise bundled several measures to calm sectional tensions over slavery: admitting California as a free state; organizing New Mexico and Utah with the question of slavery left to popular sovereignty; strengthening the Fugitive Slave Act; and ending the slave trade in Washington, D.C. (while slavery itself remained legal there). Because all of these provisions were part of the Compromise, there isn’t a provision listed that was not a key element. If the prompt suggests one, it’s likely a miswording or a trick to test careful reading of the exact language.

The question tests your knowledge of what the Compromise of 1850 included. The Compromise bundled several measures to calm sectional tensions over slavery: admitting California as a free state; organizing New Mexico and Utah with the question of slavery left to popular sovereignty; strengthening the Fugitive Slave Act; and ending the slave trade in Washington, D.C. (while slavery itself remained legal there). Because all of these provisions were part of the Compromise, there isn’t a provision listed that was not a key element. If the prompt suggests one, it’s likely a miswording or a trick to test careful reading of the exact language.