Texas Surveyors Practice Exam

The Compromise of 1850 included provisions for which of the following states?

1. Kansas

2. California

3. Oregon

4. New Mexico

The correct answer is: California

The Compromise of 1850 was a significant legislative package aimed at resolving the tensions between free and slave states following the Mexican-American War. One of its key provisions was the admission of California as a free state. California, having a large population due to the Gold Rush, sought statehood and wanted to enter the Union. The admission of California as a free state was crucial in the context of the compromise, as it helped to maintain a balance between free and slave states, even though it tilted toward free states. The other states mentioned—Kansas, Oregon, and New Mexico—were not directly part of the Compromise of 1850 in the same context. While Kansas would later be part of the contentious Kansas-Nebraska Act, Oregon was settled under different circumstances and had already been admitted as a free state earlier. New Mexico was addressed in the compromise as a territory without distinct provisions for slavery status at the time, leaving the decision to future settlers. Thus, California stands out as the state specifically admitted under the terms of the Compromise.