"The crimes of this guilty land will never be done away with; but with blood." - John Brown (Hickman, Kennedy). Put best by John Brown's final words, the young United States was inevitably headed for serious war. There were many events, however, in the 1850s that caused the war to come sooner than expected. The Compromise of 1850, written by Henry Clay and Daniel Webster, had a great impact on both slaveholders and abolitionists. Now New Mexico, Utah, and every other land in the New West could decide for themselves whether to be free or slave according to popular sovereignty. Popular sovereignty is when the people in their state and the state government decide for themselves whether they are a free or slave state (Hickman, Kennedy). Additionally, because of this compromise, residents of the District of Columbia could no longer trade slaves ("Civil War Events Leading to War Timeline"), Texas debts were canceled, and some Texan land was given to New Mexico . There was another part of this compromise that was more palatable to pro-slavery citizens called the Fugitive Slave Act. The Fugitive Slave Act was part of a compromise. California joined the United States as a free state in 1850, so the slave states received the Fugitive Slave Act as part of the compromise (Hickman, Kennedy). The Fugitive Slave Act made it easier for slave owners to track down their slaves if they escaped to free states ("Civil War Events Leading to War Timeline"). The law made it more dangerous to help free slaves and hide them. Even if the house where the slaves were hidden was in a free state, if the government found out, those hiding the slaves could face large fines or be imprisoned, as well as the slave being forced to return to the slave owner. ......middle of sheet ......Civil War Events Leading to the War Chronology." Civil War Events Leading to the War Chronology. The Civil War Page, n.d. Web. November 2, 2013 ."The Civil War in Missouri." Kansas-Nebraska Act: Bleeding Kansas. Missouri History Museum, nd Web. November 11, 2013. Hickman, Kennedy. "Causes of the American Civil War - Causes of the Civil War - Roots of the American Civil War. " Military History - War Through the Ages - Battles and Conflicts - Weapons of War - Military Leaders in History Np, July 2002. Web November 1, 2013. Jolley, Laura R. "B. Gratz Brown (1826 - 1885). "B. Gratz Brown. The State Historical Society of Missouri, n.d. Web. November 2, 2013. Kelly, Martin. "The 9 Major Events That Led Up to the Civil War." About.com American History. Np, n.d. Web. November 10 2013. Kelly, Martin. “The Five Major Causes of the Civil War.” About.com American History. 2013.