Describe the major elements in the Compromise of 1850.

There were four main components to the Compromise of 1850. California wanted to join the Union as a free state and would be allowed to do so. Secondly, the Utah and the New Mexico territories were created. The people living in these territories would determine if there would or wouldn’t be slavery in them.

There were two other parts to the Compromise of 1850. The trading of slaves in Washington, DC would end. Finally, the Fugitive Slave Law was passed. This law required northerners to help capture runaway slaves and return them to the South. This meant that a runaway slave could no longer be confident that escaping to the North would mean he or she would be free. The Compromise of 1850 gave both the North and the South some things that they wanted. However, each side didn’t get everything that it wanted.