5.3 The Compromise of 1850

The Compromise of 1850 was one of the last major efforts to preserve the Union through political negotiation. It developed from the disputes that followed the new territories acquired after the Mexican–American War. When California applied for statehood as a free state, Southern leaders feared that the balance between free and slave states would be lost in Congress. Into this crisis stepped Henry Clay, who was known as the Great Compromiser for his previous efforts to unite North and South.