Wilmot Proviso

(noun)

A controversial law, proposed by Congressman David Wilmot, that would have banned slavery in any territory to be acquired from Mexico in the Mexican War, including the area later known as the "Mexican Cession," but which some proponents construed to also include the disputed lands in South Texas and New Mexico, east of the Rio Grande.

Related Terms

Examples of Wilmot Proviso in the following topics:

  • Wilmot Proviso

    • The Wilmot Proviso would have banned slavery in any territory acquired from the Mexican War.
    • The Wilmot Proviso, as proposed by Congressman David Wilmot, would have banned slavery in any territory to be acquired from the Mexican War.
    • The Wilmot Proviso, proposed in August 1846, rapidly brought the issue to the political forefront.
    • In the North, many abolitionists and radical antislavery proponents embraced the Wilmot Proviso.
    • Furthermore, the Wilmot Proviso found support among those who were apathetic on the slave issue, such as David Wilmot himself.

  • Polk and Expansion

    • Polk believed slavery could not exist in the territories won from Mexico but refused to endorse the Wilmot Proviso that would forbid it there.

  • Slavery and Liberty

    • The animation includes a five second frame on 1789, 1800, 1821, 1837, the unrealized 1846 Wilmot Proviso, 1846, 1858, and 1861.

  • Victory in Mexico

    • Democratic Congressman David Wilmot introduced the Wilmot Proviso, which aimed to prohibit slavery in new territory acquired from Mexico.
    • Wilmot's proposal did not pass Congress, but it spurred further hostility between the factions.

  • Conclusion: The Increasing Inevitability of War

    • The Wilmot Proviso sparked sectarian debate in Congress that forced political leaders to make numerous compromises to determine the slave issue in U.S. territories.