The Compromise of 1850 and Kansas-Nebraska Acts were very advantageous to the South. In both pieces of legislation the south gained things that would aid them in their campaign to expand slavery. The advantages the south included a stronger fugitive slave law, the possibility for slavery to exist in the remaining part of the Mexican Cession, the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, and the eventual plan to build the Southern Pacific Railroad.One item in the Compromise of 1850 was the provision for a stronger Fugitive Slave Law. This new law made it a federal crime to not return a runaway slave to the south. The law also established that any suspected runaway slave was to be tried by a single judge, not by a jury. Also, these judges were compensated by a system that provided them with more money for deciding that the slave was guilty than innocent. This law obviously encouraged people not to harbor runaway slaves, and when they were caught, it provided the judge an incentive to have them returned to the south.Another advantage of the Compromise of 1850 to the south was that the rest of the Mexican Cession territory was to be divided into the two territories of Utah, and New Mexico. It was also said that when these territories eventually applied for statehood, the people of the new states would decide for themselves if they were to be free states or slave states. This was good for the south because it made it possible for the new territory to eventually become slave states, and that would not be possible if the 36-30 line was extended westward. The compromise also said nothing prohibiting people from bringing their slaves to the territory in the meantime. The Kansas-Nebraska Act was a great victory for the south. The greatest benefit to the south was the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, which established the sacred 36-30 line. If the Missouri Compromise had stayed in place, there would have been no more possibility for the ex...
