History glossary
Compromise of 1850
a package of laws meant to settle disputes over slavery after the Mexican-American War.
- Category
- Political compromise
- Region
- United States
- Date range
- 1850
What it means
The Compromise of 1850 admitted California as a free state, organized New Mexico and Utah with popular sovereignty, ended the slave trade in Washington, D.C., and strengthened the Fugitive Slave Act. It held the Union together temporarily but deepened sectional anger.
