Compromise of 1850

     As a result of the election of 1848, General Zachary Taylor of the Whig party gained office as president. Taylor immediately wanted to admit California and New Mexico into the U.S as states. However, after it was decided that California would become a free state, Southerners became unhappy with Taylor because they thought that New Mexico would also become a free state because the Mexicans there had banned it. Congressmen began quickly devising plans for compromises, as Taylor was stubborn and refused to make any alterations to his plan to please the South.

     Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky decided to attempt to take the title of "great pacificator," as he had in the Missouri Compromise of 1820. He offered a 5-part series of resolutions to reduce the tension and restore an equilibrium: 

1. California would be accepted as a free state

2. New Mexico and Utah territories' status would be determined by its own people (popular sovereignty)

3. A stronger Fugitive Slave Act

4. Texas would be compensated for the New Mexico border dispute

5. Slave trade would be banned in Washington DC

     Unfortunately, Taylor was a stubborn man and resisted the Clay's proposal. Luckily, critical developments resulted in Taylor's death and the ascension of Millard Fillmore to the presidency. With his blessing, Clay's proposal was slightly modified and passed.