Compromise of 1850

Audience

The legislation making up the Compromise of 1850 was written to gain the support of a sufficient number of members of Congress. The ideas that these bills contained, however, were aimed at a much wider public. In proposing the original compromise resolutions, Henry Clay reached out to Union-loving citizens in the North and South, calling for “an equal amount of concession and forbearance on both sides” (Milton, p. 54). Americans who considered peace and stability more important than the moral arguments surrounding slavery were receptive to Clay's appeal. They responded to the suggestion that since slavery could not prosper in the new western territories, it was not worth fighting about. By distinguishing between “expedient” and “inexpedient” ways of dealing with slavery, Clay appealed to the practicality of the American people. Many citizens in both the North and the South could not be persuaded to support the compromise, but an even larger group—including many influential businessmen, clergymen, and educators—proved open to the approach.