<P> In the interest of maintaining unity , politicians had mostly moderated opposition to slavery , resulting in numerous compromises such as the Missouri Compromise of 1820 under the presidency of James Monroe . After the Mexican -- American War of 1846 to 1848 , the issue of slavery in the new territories led to the Compromise of 1850 . While the compromise averted an immediate political crisis , it did not permanently resolve the issue of the Slave Power ( the power of slaveholders to control the national government on the slavery issue ) . Part of the Compromise of 1850 was the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 , which many Northerners found to be extremely offensive , and required that Northerners assist Southerners in reclaiming fugitive slaves . </P>
<P> In the interest of maintaining unity , politicians had mostly moderated opposition to slavery , resulting in numerous compromises such as the Missouri Compromise of 1820 under the presidency of James Monroe . After the Mexican -- American War of 1846 to 1848 , the issue of slavery in the new territories led to the Compromise of 1850 . While the compromise averted an immediate political crisis , it did not permanently resolve the issue of the Slave Power ( the power of slaveholders to control the national government on the slavery issue ) . Part of the Compromise of 1850 was the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 , which many Northerners found to be extremely offensive , and required that Northerners assist Southerners in reclaiming fugitive slaves . </P>
at the heart of the missouri compromise was the issue of
at the heart of the missouri compromise was the issue of
slavery
slavery