Compromise of 1850

Henry Clay (1777-1852) represented Kentucky in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. He ran for president unsuccessfully three different times. As the youngest person elected as Speaker of the House at the age of 34, he served under the administration of seven different presidents.

Clay first became known for his ability to work out compromises in 1819, when conflict arose over the admission of Missouri, a slave state, to the Union. Even though Clay had previously endorsed gradual emancipation in Kentucky, he chose to back a compromise that would admit Missouri as a slave state, admit Maine as a free state, and forbid slavery north of 36°30’ parallel. Clay was able to organize a group to back the proposal, which came to be known as the Missouri Compromise. Not long after, Clay brokered another deal when Missouri’s proposed constitution banned free Black people. In 1833, he worked out a deal to bring an end to the nullification crisis. It is noted that in each of his compromises, he modeled a willingness to sacrifice something in order to reach an agreement with the other side.