Which provision best describes the approach to slavery in new states under the Compromise of 1850?

• A. California joined the Union as a free state
• B. Slavery would be decided by popular sovereignty in the admission of new states
• C. It prohibited slave trade in the District of Columbia
• D. Texas boundary settlement was settled

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is how the Compromise of 1850 handled the issue of slavery in new territories: it let the people living in those territories decide through popular sovereignty whether slavery would be legal there once they apply for statehood. This meant that residents in Utah and New Mexico would vote to determine if slavery would be allowed, rather than having Congress impose a blanket rule. It was a negotiated balance between free and slave state interests, aiming to reduce conflict by deferring the decision to local voters.

This matches the option describing popular sovereignty for admitting new states. The other provisions—making California a free state, banning the slave trade in the District of Columbia, and settling Texas boundaries—address different parts of the compromise and do not describe how slavery would be decided in new states.