Compromise of 1850
Definition: Another stopgap measure along the lines of the Missouri Compromise. This one abolished the slave trade in the District of Columbia but bound Congress to create became the Fugitive Slave Law. The Compromise of 1850 also admitted California as a free state and separately organized the territories of Utah and New Mexico without restrictions on slavery.
Related Resources:
Compromise of 1850 Map
It all makes sense when you look at a map.
About the Civil War
Find facts, figures, maps, timelines, and much more on this important American war.
Elsewhere on the Web:
The Compromise of 1850 and the Fugitive Slave Act
See how these laws affected all Americans, white and black.
The Fugitive Slave Law
Find out more about the law itself, including perspectives from leading figures of the time.