Compromise of 1850
...bate was left unresolved, and the issue fell upon the presidency of newly elected, ex-military general Zachary Taylor. Aggravating the existing complications, James Marshall's discovery of gold in the California territories would provide another major factor in the necessity for a compromise to the quandary. Subsequently, an enormous exodus to California in search of quick riches forced the issue of California's impending statehood. An admittance as a free state under a newly formed constitution would mean an upset in the balance of the political powers of the North and the South. Because of the practice of popular sovereignty in the applications of both California and New Mexico, entrances as slave states proved improbable. This realization of its decline in power motivated the South to increase its efforts to alleviate its inferior position. Faced with this mounting crisis, moderates and unionists spend the winter of 1849-1850 trying to frame a great compromise. The aging Henry Clay, who was spearheading the effort, believed that no compromise could last unless it settled all of the involved issues. When the Compromise of 1850, which seemingly solved the problems, was passed, it was hailed as a great compromise that satisfied everyone and solved the sectional problems. Unbeknownst to them, the following years would be filled with the fallout of this compromise. Fortunately, the few years immediately after the compromise was reached were a time of prosperity and peace. However, the ostensible weaknesses of the Compromise of 1850 began to appear as the growing conflicts arose. Because the Missouri Compromise was a product of widespread agreement on common ideals, it led to a success that would deem it a great compromise. However, the aftereffects of the Compromise of 1850 comprise crises and conflicts. Its failure to decisively decide the slavery in all of the America...