Henry Clay a U.S senator resolved a debate in 1820 about the spread of slavery. The U.S gained territory after the war they had with Mexico and they had to decide if those lands were going to be free or would those lands allow slavery, or the people living in those lands would chose themselves.
Clay, Daniel Webster (Senator from Massachusetts), and John C. Calhoun (senator from South Carolina) debated the idea of keeping slavery or not, debate the compromise. Stephan Douglas a democrate help by making a series bills that made up the compromise ushered through congress.
Texas would reliquich the land but in exchange they would give them $10 million (they'll use that money to pay the debts of Mexico).
The Fugitive Slave Act was the most contraversial. It says that citizens must assist to the recovery of fugitive slaves. Fugitives were not allowed to have a juge trial. Slaves who tried to make a living in the North was impossible and chaos with this act. Many slaves left and went to Canada. Colored people started moving in neighboring countries and people would capture black (colored) people and send them to the South. Those captured people had no right and so they were not able to defend themselves.
The Compromise of 1850 helped unite, it united the nations. Unfortunatly time passed by and people divided, this united the nations only for a while.
Information source: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2951.html
Image source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Slave_kidnap_post_1851_boston.jpg
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