Upon The Wrong Foote

April 17th, 1850



For several weeks, a personal animosity had deepened between Senator Henry Foote of Mississippi and Senator Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri; the former supporting Senator Clay's compromise legislation and the latter vehemently opposing it.


Matters came to a head that afternoon when Senator Foote began making personal accusations and remarks against Senator Benton in one of his speeches. SenatorBenton abruptly stood up from his desk, knocking his chair violently aside, and started towards Senator Foote in an unmistakable posture of physical confrontation.


Senator Foote (who was of much slighter build than the outraged Senator Benton) fled down the aisle towards the Vice President's desk, behind which he took cover and aimed a revolver at Senator Benton. Chaos erupted at the sight of the drawn weapon: visitors fled the galleries, and Senators shouted for someone to fetch the Sargeant-at-Arms. Senator Benton continued his foolhardy advance, shouting that Senator Footefor a coward and daring him to shoot.


[POD] Seeing Senator Foote's attention distracted for an instant, Senator Dickinson of New York tries to grab the revolver away from him. As they struggle, a single gunshot rings out. Vice President Millard Fillmore (who had stood only a few yards away, shouting in vain for the Senate to come to order) abruptly drops his gavel, staggers and falls to the floor. "Oh my God! You've killed Fillmore! You bastards!" shouts Senator Benton.

- - -

Assuming Zachary Taylor still gets sick and dies that summer,

* Depending on which chamber selects a leader first, the Presidential succession falls to either Senate President Pro Tempore William R. King (D-Alabama), or House Speaker Howell Cobb (D-Georgia), both of whom are strongly pro-slavery.


* Under the terms of the Succession Act of 1792, there will need to be a Presidential election in November 1850; so anti-slavery Whigs and Democrats probably work together to block any Compromise from passing until after the election (when hopefully someone more reasonable is in the White House).

* William Seward has a good chance of being elected, which may mean no Compromise of 1851, 1852, 1853, or 1854 either.

* Senator Foote is likely to be expelled, wrecking his political career and allowing pro-secession candidate Jefferson Davis to be elected governor of Mississippi the following year (1851).

Thoughts?

Under the terms of the Succession Act of 1792, there will need to be a Presidential election in November 1850;

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?Where did you find this? I just Wikied this. It says nothing about a new Election,

The Compromise of 1850 was a series of laws that attempted to resolve the territorial and slavery controversies arising from the Mexican-American War (1846–48). The five laws balanced the interests of the slave states of the South and the free states. California was admitted as a free state; Texas received financial compensation for relinquishing claim to lands east of the Rio Grande in what is now New Mexico; the territory of New Mexico (including present-day Arizona and Utah) was organized without any specific prohibition of slavery; the slave trade (but not slavery itself) was abolished in Washington, D.C.; and the stringent Fugitive Slave Law was passed, requiring all U.S. citizens to assist in the return of runaway slaves regardless of the legality of slavery in the specific states.

The measures, a compromise designed by Whig Senator Henry Clay (who failed to get them through himself), were shepherded to passage by Democratic Senator Stephen Douglas and Whig Senator Daniel Webster. The measures were opposed by Senator John C. Calhoun. The Compromise was possible after the death of President Zachary Taylor, who was in opposition. Succeeding President Taylor was a strong supporter of the compromise, Vice President Millard Fillmore. It temporarily defused sectional tensions in the United States, postponing the secession crisis and the American Civil War. The Compromise dropped the Wilmot Proviso, which never became law but would have banned slavery in territory acquired from Mexico. Instead the Compromise further endorsed the doctrine of "Popular Sovereignty" for the New Mexico Territory. The various compromises lessened political contention for four years, until the relative lull was shattered by the divisive Kansas-Nebraska Act.

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So no Comprimise in 1850
California has to wait to become a State
Texas does not get the ten million dollars it owes Mexico, So Mexico's Finincial problems become Worst sooner.
New Mexico remains an unorgainized territory
Slave trade remains legal in DC.
Fugitive Slave Act not Passed.

The Two I see have the greatest impact are the Fugitive Slave Act, which Helped the growth of the Underground Railway.
And the money for Mexico.

DuQuense said:

?Where did you find this? I just Wikied this. It says nothing about a new Election,

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See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_line_of_succession

"The Act called for a special election to be held in November of the year in which dual vacancies occurred (unless the vacancies occurred after the first Wednesday in October, in which case the election would occur the following year; or unless the vacancies occurred within the last year of the presidential term, in which case the next election would take place as regularly scheduled"