Compromise of 1850

Cultural  

1. A set of laws, passed in the midst of fierce wrangling between groups favoring slavery and groups opposing it, that attempted to give something to both sides. The compromise admitted California to the United States as a “free” (no slavery) state but allowed some newly acquired territories to decide on slavery for themselves. Part of the Compromise included the Fugitive Slave Act, which proved highly unpopular in the North. Senator Henry Clay was a force behind the passage of the compromise.

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The Compromise of 1850 shows how difficult it was to accommodate the two sides of the slavery question. It failed to prevent the Civil War, which broke out just over ten years later.

Example Sentences

California banned slavery in its 1849 Constitution and entered the Union as a “free state” under the Compromise of 1850.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 24, 2023

During debates on the Compromise of 1850 concerning the expansion of slavery, Sen. Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri charged Sen. Henry S. Foote of Mississippi on the Senate floor.

From Salon • Sep. 21, 2023

He and prominent Whig Sen. Henry Clay fashioned the Compromise of 1850.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 19, 2020

The fight over California produced the Compromise of 1850, in which the North conceded to the South the Fugitive Slave Act in exchange for Southern acquiescence in California’s admission as a free state.

From Washington Post • Jan. 23, 2020

These events prompted a slavery debate in Congress—and may have influenced one piece of the Compromise of 1850, which ended the slave trade in the District of Columbia.

From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis