A series of acts were passsed by the U.S. Congress in 1850 with the intent of settling the conflict between Southern slaveowners and Northern opponents of slavery. The issue had come to a head over whether the territory acquired by the United States in the
Mexican American War should be slave or free. The compromise succeeded only in delaying the
Civil War by ten years.
The compromise granted Texas $10,000,000 to abandon its claims to territory in New Mexico. New Mexico and Utah were organized as territories, but the question of slavery was left to them to decide. California was admitted as a free state. Slavery was abolished in the District of Columbia. However, stricter federal laws regarding the return of runaway slaves were enacted.
Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, and Stephen A. Douglas were prominent proponents. John C. Calhoun led the opposition. After the compromise, the issue died down until the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 made slavery in territories where it had been prohibited.
