The Compromise of 1850 was a series of legislative measures aimed at easing tensions between slave and free states in the United States, following the Mexican-American War and the acquisition of new territories. It was designed to address the contentious issue of slavery's expansion into these new territories and to maintain the balance of power between slave and free states.
Key components of the Compromise included:
- California Admission: California was admitted as a free state, tipping the balance in favor of free states.
- New Mexico and Utah Territories: The territories of New Mexico and Utah were organized with the principle of popular sovereignty, allowing settlers to decide whether to allow slavery.
- Texas Border Adjustment: Texas agreed to relinquish claims to land in present-day New Mexico in exchange for $10 million to pay off its debt.
- Fugitive Slave Act: A stricter Fugitive Slave Act was enacted, requiring that escaped slaves be returned to their owners, even if they were found in free states, and penalizing those who aided fugitives.
- Abolition of Slave Trade in Washington, D.C.: The slave trade (but not slavery itself) was abolished in the nation’s capital.
The Compromise was instrumental in temporarily resolving sectional disputes, but it ultimately failed to create lasting peace, as it intensified national divisions over slavery, contributing to the outbreak of the Civil War in the 1860s.