<P> The Compromise of 1850 was a package of five separate bills passed by the United States Congress in September 1850 , which defused a four - year political confrontation between slave and free states on the status of territories acquired during the Mexican -- American War ( 1846 -- 1848 ) . The compromise , drafted by Whig Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky and brokered by Clay and Democratic Senator Stephen Douglas of Illinois , reduced sectional conflict . Controversy arose over the Fugitive Slave provision . The Compromise was greeted with relief , but each side disapproved of some of its specific provisions : </P>
<P> The Compromise of 1850 was a package of five separate bills passed by the United States Congress in September 1850 , which defused a four - year political confrontation between slave and free states on the status of territories acquired during the Mexican -- American War ( 1846 -- 1848 ) . The compromise , drafted by Whig Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky and brokered by Clay and Democratic Senator Stephen Douglas of Illinois , reduced sectional conflict . Controversy arose over the Fugitive Slave provision . The Compromise was greeted with relief , but each side disapproved of some of its specific provisions : </P>
who is credited with leading the effort that led to the compromise of 1850
who is credited with leading the effort that led to the compromise of 1850
Whig Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky Democratic Senator Stephen Douglas of Illinois
Whig Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky Democratic Senator Stephen Douglas of Illinois