Final answer:
The Compromise of 1850, involving legislation such as the Fugitive Slave Act and the admission of California as a free state, addressed issues of slavery after the Mexican Cession but was not about Kansas's statehood. That was later addressed by the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. The Compromise ultimately deepened sectional divides, contributing to the eventual outbreak of the Civil War.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was a critical piece of legislation aimed at resolving the intense debates over slavery in the Mexican Cession territories, especially after California applied for admission to the Union as a free state. One of the central figures in the Compromise's creation was Henry Clay, but after his departure due to frustration, Stephen Douglas took the lead, introducing five separate bills that collectively formed the Compromise. These included the fiercely contested Fugitive Slave Act, the admission of California as a free state, the settlement of the Texas-New Mexico boundary, the abolition of the slave trade in Washington, D.C., and the establishment of popular sovereignty for the New Mexico and Utah territories to decide their own fates as slave or free states.
However, it is important to note that the Compromise of 1850 was not about Kansas's statehood, which is often confused with the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. The latter legislation introduced the principle of popular sovereignty to the Kansas and Nebraska territories, eventually leading to violent conflicts known as 'Bleeding Kansas'.
President Zachary Taylor's death during this period led to Millard Fillmore assuming the presidency and supporting the Compromise, which only served to deepen the divide between North and South. The contentious nature of the Fugitive Slave Act especially caused heightened concerns about slavery in the North, with various northern states enacting personal liberty laws in response.