One of the first things that led up to the compromise of 1850 was the gag rule. The gag rule explained that for 10 years the congress did not pass any laws about slavery. Within that law there were southern fears. People were afraid of the laws that were and going to be made about slavery. The people in the north were against slavery and were trying to fight against it meanwhile the south wanted it to stay and didn't see anything wrong with it. The south was scared of the decisions that might be made about the slavery ending. One law that was not made was that the slaves would not have to go back to the the south if they had escaped. The north was trying to save the slaves into not having to go back. Wilmot Proviso feared the addition of new land for slavery, and there soon was a anti slavery declaration and that took a toll on the political situation. Soon it was declared that slavery would be banned from in territory associated with Mexico or within the land near Mexico. Another thing that led up to the compromise of 1850 was the California statehood. On September 9th, 1850 California was officially declared as the 31st state. Soon after California became a free state to the Union. A few weeks later Washington D.C ended all slave trade within their state. Before this law was made, slaves worked in the nation's capital. The nation decided to ban all slavery in the Columbia district.