Which Kentucky senator, known as 'The Great Compromiser,' outlined the Compromise of 1850 but died before it was passed?

• A. Henry Clay
• B. Stephen Douglas
• C. Daniel Webster
• D. Jefferson Davis

Answer: (A)

Henry Clay, the Kentucky senator known as The Great Compromiser, outlined the Compromise of 1850 to resolve the fierce sectional clash over slavery in the new territories acquired after the Mexican-American War. He crafted a package of measures designed to balance free and slave state interests—admitting California as a free state, organizing New Mexico and Utah with the question of slavery to be decided by popular sovereignty, resolving Texas's debt, enforcing a stricter Fugitive Slave Act, and addressing the DC slave trade. This approach aimed to keep the Union together by making concessions that appeased different regions. Clay’s leadership and willingness to broker concessions earned him his nickname, and while he did not live forever to see every provision take effect, his outlined plan became the framework that Congress debated and, in substance, moved forward in 1850.