Question

What is the Compromise of 1850 and why is it important?

Answer 1

The Compromise of 1850 consists of five laws passed in September of 1850 that dealt with the issue of slavery. In 1849 California requested permission to enter the Union as a free state, potentially upsetting the balance between the free and slave states in the U.S. Senate. Senator Henry Clay introduced a series of resolutions on January 29, 1850, in an attempt to seek a compromise and avert a crisis between North and South

Answer 2

The Compromise of 1850 was an effort to preserve the balance between slave states and free states and keep the union together in the United States.

The Compromise of 1850 was passed after an attempt to have all new territories be non-slave states.  In 1846, Congressman David Wilmot of Pennsylvania introduced an amendment to an appropriations bill, stipulating  that any territory gained from Mexico (after winning war vs. Mexico) would be free, not allowing slavery.  [Don't think of Wilmot as an abolitionist, though.  He wanted new territories to be free of blacks, preferring whites-only territories.]   Wilmot's amendment passed in the House of Representatives, but was unable to get approval in the Senate.  The Compromise of 1850, a package of five bills passed by Congress in September of that year, sought to accommodate some of the issues both South and North were debating  during those years.  The balance between slave states and free states continued to be an issue.