Which legislative agreement was aimed at resolving tensions between free and slave states in the early 1850s?

The Compromise of 1850 was a significant legislative agreement designed to address the growing tensions between free and slave states in the United States during the early 1850s. This series of laws aimed to balance the interests of both sides in the wake of the Mexican-American War and the territorial expansion that followed.

Key provisions of the Compromise included admitting California as a free state, while allowing the territories of New Mexico and Utah to decide on slavery through popular sovereignty. Additionally, it included the infamous Fugitive Slave Act, which required that escaped slaves be returned to their owners, increasing the enforcement of slave laws in northern states. This compromise was pivotal in temporarily easing sectional conflicts and delaying the onset of the Civil War.

The Missouri Compromise predated this agreement and was specifically focused on the balance established in 1820 regarding Missouri's admission as a slave state and Maine as a free state, without addressing the broader tensions that arose later. The Kansas-Nebraska Act, on the other hand, actually led to further conflict by allowing new territories to decide the slavery issue for themselves, which ignited violent confrontations. The Wilmot Proviso proposed banning slavery in territories acquired from Mexico but ultimately failed and highlighted the deep sectional divides without resulting in any