The story of the Compromise of 1850, a pivotal moment in American history, where the nation teetered on the edge of civil war over the expansion of slavery. Gettysburg National Park Service Ranger John Hoptak recounts the events leading up to the compromise, including the debates in Congress, the roles of key figures such as Zachary Taylor, Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun, and Daniel Webster, and the ultimate passage of the compromise, which admitted California as a free state, strengthened the Fugitive Slave Act, and allowed New Mexico to decide for itself whether to allow slavery.
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