What was the main goal of the Compromise of 1850?

The main goal of the Compromise of 1850 was to settle disputes over the expansion of slavery in new territories. This series of legislative measures was designed to address the tensions between free and slave states as the United States expanded westward.

At the heart of the Compromise was the need to determine how newly acquired lands from the Mexican-American War, particularly California, would handle the issue of slavery. The legislation included provisions that allowed California to enter the Union as a free state while also introducing the concept of popular sovereignty, which permitted the residents of the territories of Utah and New Mexico to decide for themselves whether to allow slavery.

This balance aimed to maintain peace between the North and South by addressing the immediate concerns surrounding slavery’s expansion without abolishing it outright, which was a more divisive issue. Thus, the Compromise served as a temporary solution to the ongoing sectional conflicts over slavery, rather than directly resolving the practice or calling for its abolition.