In-Text References

Historical References

The Mexican-American War (Texas.Section 1.3-5)
California applying for statehood (California.Section 1.1)

Legal References

The Constitution of the United States
The Fugitive Slave Act of 1789 (Fugitive Slave Act.Section 1.1)
An Act to establish the Territorial Government of Oregon (August 14, 1848) (Texas.Section 10.10, Texas.Section 11.3, Utah.Section 9.10, Utah.Section 10.3)

References to This Text

Literary References

Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861)
Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin (1851)
Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Life of Franklin Pierce (1852)
Chapter 6 of this book by Mr. Scarlet Letter himself Nathaniel Hawthorne is called "The Compromise and Other Matters," and it's about Pierce and the Compromise.

Historical and Political References

Frederick Douglass, "The Fugitive Slave Law," speech to the National Free Soil Convention at Pittsburgh (August 11, 1852)
Stephen A. Douglas, First, Third, and Fifth Speeches of Lincoln-Douglas Debates (1858)
John J. McRae of Mississippi, Speech on the Organization of the House (December 13-14, 1859)
(This is a speech given by a congressman to the House of Representatives, addressing his opinions on an upcoming vote for Speaker of the House.)
George Douglas Buddecke, "The Beginning Of The End; Are We Nearing The Climax of a Political Epoch? The Whig Compromise Bill Of 1850 and the M'Kinley And Lodge Bills Of 1890" (The New York Times, November 16, 1890). The author here invokes the Compromise of 1850 to draw parallels to the political situation of 1890, primarily a tariff.

Pop Culture References

Race to Freedom: The Underground Railroad
This 1994 TV movie has a prominent storyline about a slave's escape from a plantation, and his pursuit by slave catchers in the early 1850s.
Edward Williams Clay, "Scene in Uncle Sam's Senate 17 April 1850." (1850). This political cartoon references a point in the debate over the Compromise of 1850, where one senator drew a pistol on another.
Theodor Kaufmann, "Effects of the Fugitive-Slave-Law" (1850). This drawing is a scathing commentary on the Fugitive Slave Act. It shows four Black men fleeing an ominous group of white men in the distance. On the bottom, a Bible quote and the opening line of the Declaration of Independence are written to remind readers of their moral compass.