With the consent of the legislature of the Commonwealth of Virginia, its enclave of Kentucky is admitted as a slave State into the voluntary Union.  This brings the balance, in the Senate, of free States and slave States to seven free and eight slave.  Article XII, Section 8 of its Constitution states: “[I]n all indictments for libels, the jury shall have a right to determine the law and the facts, under the direction of the court as in other cases.”

      [updated 12/21/2024]

       The cancer caused by the 1776 compromise on slavery continues to spread. The slave states begin to see their majority control slip away. It will be lost forever in less than 60 years, and the South’s intransigence will help the North impose high tariffs and foment an unnecessary war that will cost all of the States control over the federal juggernaut; the right to peaceful secession. –– JL