Compromise of 1850
29 Jan 1850
Causes: California applied to become a free state, disrupting the balance of power in Senate between Democrats and Whigs.
People: Henry Clay, Stephen Douglas
Effects: CA was admitted as a free state and in return, a new Fugitive Slave Act was passed to please the South/Democrats. Abolitionists and Free-Soilers disliked the Fugitive Slave Law. Northerners gained control of the Senate, making more Southerners in favor of secession when the Civil War came around.