dec 18, 1860 - Crittenden Compromise

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A failed proposal that attempted to forestall the secession of the South by placating them on the issue of slavery. Proposed by Constitutional Unionist KY Senator John J. Crittenden, it proposed a series of Congressional legislations and six constitutional amendments that guaranteed the existence of slavery where it was already legal. It also suggested the re-institution of the Missouri Compromise line that would be unrepealable, and then be extended to California. It appealed to Democrats, but was rejected by Republicans, especially Abraham Lincoln, unwilling to accept such major concessions to the South and to slavery.

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