5. The Compromise of 1850
By 1850, the United States teetered on the edge of sectional conflict over the expansion of slavery. The Compromise of 1850 emerged as a temporary solution, admitting California as a free state and enacting the Fugitive Slave Act, which inflamed abolitionist sentiment in the North. While the compromise delayed open conflict and preserved the Union for a time, it deepened mistrust and resentment on both sides. The uneasy peace it created was only a pause before greater turmoil. Explore more
