longer.blue

Unfortunately, the fact that California wanted to come in as a "free" state despite half of its land area being below the Missouri Compromise line, there was a lot of political wrangling involved (California initially applied for statehood in November 1849, after meeting the population requirement and adopting a state Constitution.) The package of bills that included California statehood also involved Texas' giving up claims to lands outside its current boundaries (in exchange for the federal government assuming the debts of the former Republic of Texas), the resulting land being organized as the Utah Territory and New Mexico Territory, with an agreement that the legality of slavery in those territories would be decided by popular sovereignty (effectively throwing out the Missouri Compromise), the banning of the slave trade (though not of slavery itself) in the District of Columbia, and a new, more powerful Fugitive Slave Act. So, happy Admission Day, Californians!