Question

Was California a slave state?

Answer 1

No, California was not a slave state. When California became a state in 1850, it entered the Union as a free state as part of the Compromise of 1850. The compromise aimed to balance the interests of both free and slave states in the context of territorial expansion. Although there were some forms of forced labor and a small number of enslaved individuals in California during its early years, the legal status of slavery was not officially recognized once it became a state. Moreover, California's state constitution, adopted in 1849, prohibited slavery.